Gravity
by eleanorr1gby
Summary: "Maybe when you get a little more normal," Freddie told her. Sam decides to do exactly that, become normal. But she never anticipated Freddie moving on and getting over her. Sam must make the decision to move on as well, or refuse to give up...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wanted to wait until I was a few more chapters in before I posted this, but I was excited to post this! I promise this won't be like some of the others, I actually intend to finish this one! Also, it's not going to be super long like The Ballad. I really hope you like it, I wanted to do something a little bit differently...

**Chapter One**

**"Something always brings me back to you, it never takes too long..." - Sara Bareilles, 'Gravity'  
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Sam Puckett knew why her best friend was staring at her. She could feel the tall, thin brunette's eyes on her, burning a hole right through her. Sam refused to look back at her, if she did, the questions would start, and she couldn't have that right now.

Not with him standing right there.

Carly Shay looked back and forth between her two best friends in slight disbelief. Freddie Benson had made countless nerdy comments all night, and Sam had let all of them slip right past her without notice. This was not the way things worked in her world. Sam and Freddie had been arguing with each other their entire lives. Something was off.

Of course, Carly knew exactly what it was. It had been like this for three weeks. Freddie, saying or doing something that, in Sam's mind would warrant an insult, perhaps a beating, but letting it slip right by her. It was like Sam spent all her moments on edge these days.

It was the break up that had done it. Quite inexplicably, in the midst of all the arguing and constant warring that went on between the pair over the years, they'd somehow fell in love. And then, just as suddenly, they'd broken up. No warning. Everything had been fine, but then...they were over. Citing they were too different.

Carly remembered the night it happened. Something she had said to her brother, they had overheard, and somehow took it about being them. And then that was it.

Nothing had been the same since.

Especially not for Sam.

"It was mutual, right?" Freddie had asked that night in the elevator, and Sam had agreed, mostly to save face. But the truth was, it wasn't mutual. She missed him. She spent most of her time around him, and yet, she still missed him.

There hadn't been any fighting or awkwardness between the two since they'd broken up. They just went back to being friends, although they lacked the arguments, the tension, that had run rampant in their friendship for years.

That worried her. Sam always knew the reason she picked, prodded, and poked at Freddie over the years. She'd always wanted to touch him, make her pay attention to her. And she knew the reason they argued was due to a tremendous amount of sexual tension that had been building up. But now it was all gone. Part of her worried that it had stopped because Freddie had finally gotten her out of his system, that he had no need to argue with her now, because he felt no sexual tension.

"Maybe when you get a little more normal," he'd told her that night in the elevator. Was Sam just Freddie's little dip into the land of abnormal? A good boy wanting to try out a bad girl, take a walk on the wild side? She couldn't be sure.

One thing she was sure of, however, was that the boy was gorgeous. No break up could ever change that. The dark, hunter green polo he wore hugged his chest and biceps beautifully. It was so hard not just dive over the counter, jump on top of him, and devour him with her mouth, running her hands all over his muscles. Yanking his shirt off, so she could see his bare chest.

She'd never gotten to that point with Freddie, but oh, how she wanted to. They'd always stopped at making out, sitting up. But lately, all Sam could think about was more. She wanted more. She needed more. She just wanted to be in his arms again, kissing him. God, she missed kissing him.

The way he felt, the way he tasted, the smell of his aftershave. The way she fit into his arms and melded against his body perfectly, like they were made for each other.

Made for each other, and torn apart. Because she wasn't normal enough, or didn't share his interests, or whatever.

Carly was talking, standing next to Sam, and Sam's eyes began to wander again, focusing on Freddie. His gaze flicked up to meet hers, and their eyes locked for a moment.

Shit. She'd been caught.

Sam lowered her eyes quickly, pretending to be fascinated by the counter. If she would have taken her time, or not bothered to look away at all, however, she would have seen Freddie's lips curl into a smirk as he studied her.

_I wish I could tell her how pretty she looks today_, Freddie thought to himself glumly. _But I can't._

Before they'd gotten together, Freddie had resisted telling her she looked pretty. He had to do it all the time. But back then, it was because he feared a beating. Now, he would give anything just to have her hit him. At least it would be some sort of touch.

She never touched him any more. She never made fun of him, insulted him, tripped him, or anything any more. Most guys would be overjoyed by that, but not Freddie. If Sam wasn't giving a person a hard time, it meant she didn't even notice them, and the idea of that absolutely killed him. He wanted to be noticed by Sam. He wanted more than that. He wanted to be adored by Sam. He wanted to be loved by Sam.

"Hey, I love you," he'd told her the night they broke up. But what he really meant was, "Hey, I'm re-thinking this, but I'm not brave enough to tell you. Don't leave me."

"I love you too," Sam had responded. A lovely parting gift.

And then they'd made out, for hours, in that elevator. The closest thing to heaven Freddie had ever experienced, and then, just like that, it was over. And he wouldn't be getting it back.

He had to wonder as he looked at her, studying the soft features of her face, her big blonde curls, _does she ever think about me? Does she lay awake at night the way I do?_

Freddie thought about Sam all the time. She was the last thing he thought about before he went to sleep, and the first thing he thought about when he woke up. When she wasn't around, he was urging himself not to think about her, and when she was around, he was urging himself not to touch her.

Damn it. He just wanted to cross the room, grab her, and kiss her senseless. Do more than that. For more than just a night.

But it couldn't happen, he noted mournfully. Love was a two way street, and Sam had behaved like she was barely aware of him since the night they broke up. They were on good terms, he supposed, but it was more of an acquaintance thing. Friends, at best.

Just. Friends.

Freddie sighed pitifully; he didn't want to think about this right now. He couldn't. Especially not with Sam standing right there. He stood up suddenly, looking over at Sam and Carly.

"Well, it's getting late," he said. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Good night," Carly said.

"Don't forget about the test in Henning's class tomorrow."

"Ugh," Sam said with a groan, laying her head on the table.

"Why'd you have to remind us?" Carly scolded Freddie, and he shrugged.

"Well, later. Uh...bye, Sam..."

"Bye," she replied nonchalantly, sounding like she didn't care one way or the other. With a sigh, Freddie crossed the hall to his own apartment, unlocking the door and walking in. His mom would be working tonight, most likely.

"FREDD-AY!" T-Bo greeted him, sitting on the couch watching TV. "What up, lil dude?"

Freddie regarded T-Bo with a grunt, walking into the kitchen and pawing around the fridge. He came up empty-handed when he realized he didn't really want to eat anyway. He stalked back out, flopping down on the couch next to T-Bo.

"Yo man, why these celebrities go underwater?"

"Um, I think it's for charity," Freddie responded.

"You sound real happy, what up?"

"Nothing," Freddie responded flatly. "Just...stuff."

"You still trippin' over lil Puckett?" T-Bo asked, giving Freddie a look, and Freddie scowled at him.

"I do not trip."

"Naw man, you trippin'. Over Blondie," T-Bo replied, and Freddie just grumbled to himself unintelligibly. "You know, I went to high school with her mom."

"Really?" Freddie asked, sounding surprised, and T-Bo nodded.

"Pam had all the guys after her. Really drove 'em nuts. Guess her daughter got the same trait, because you trippin'!"

"I am not trippin'!" Freddie shouted, rising up a little, and T-Bo held his hands up defensively.

"Alright, alright, you ain't trippin'. Whatever. Anyway, so Pam was a real hot little thing back in the day, you know."

"Seriously?" Freddie asked, eyes wide. "Pam Puckett? Sam's mother?"

"Yeah man, had a nice little frame and everything..."

"But..." Freddie was unable to wrap his head around the idea. He'd met Sam's mom many times before, and while many phrases came to mind to describe Pam Puckett, 'hot little thing' was not one of them.

"But let's just say, she did not age well. Twenty years from now, that's gonna be lil Puckett!"

"What?" Freddie exclaimed. "No it's not, and...what does that have to do with anything?"

"Just sayin' man. You don't wanna get stuck with that, do you?"

"Okay, first of all, we're not even together any more, and secondly..." Freddie began, frowning when T-Bo cut him off.

"But you're still all about the girl, man! It's pathetic! Dudes don't behave like this! You broke up! Accept it! Move on!"

"I can't move on!" Freddie replied. "Do you not get that? I still..." he trailed off, biting his lip. "I still love her."

"You know what they say, best way to get over an old girlfriend is to get under a new one."

Freddie stood up, shaking his head. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. I'm going to bed."

"Night, lil homie," T-Bo replied. "Just think about it, alright? Little bit of a social life outside them two girls might do you some good!"

But Freddie didn't want to think about, as he dressed for bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling. He didn't want to go out with another girl, he wanted Sam. He loved her, and he had a feeling he would never stop loving her.

But still, it was over now. Over. A thing of the past. He had to wonder, did Sam share the same sentiment as T-Bo? Would she move on and date someone else, and Freddie would be left behind, a lovesick dork pining after someone else's girlfriend?

He couldn't let that happen.

While Freddie laid in bed, arguing with himself, across the hall, Sam was having an argument as well...with her best friend.

"Sam!" Carly cried. "You have to tell Freddie how you feel!"

"I can't!" Sam responded shrilly. "He...it's over, Carly. Don't you get it? I mean, the spark, it's completely..." Sam trailed off, groaning softly. "He's over me."

"But you're not over him," Carly replied pointedly, and Sam shook her head.

"Doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Sam! You love him! You have to tell him how you feel!"

"I can't! Not...not yet."

Carly frowned, staring at her best friend in confusion. "What do you mean, not yet?"

"I just...nothing. It's late, I've gotta go. I need sleep."

"Fine, walk away from the conversation, walk away from your feelings, like always. Bury your love in sleep."

"Oh, I will."

"You just wanna have steamy hot Freddie dreams," Carly pointed out, poking her, and Sam gasped in mortification.

"No I don't!" she cried defensively, shaking her head, and Carly laughed.

"Yeah right. Last Saturday, when you slept over, you were talking in your sleep."

Sam glared at Carly, arms crossed over her chest. "I do not talk in my sleep."

"Oh really? Then it must have been some other angry little blonde on my futon, moaning 'Oh, Freddie, don't stop!' and 'Oh, Freddie, you're such a bad boy'. Is he really a bad boy, Sam?" Carly asked, poking her again, and Sam slapped her hand away.

"Quit it!" Sam cried, red as a tomato. Sam was absolutely horrified that she'd been talking in her sleep, especially in the midst of some very, very heated dreams involving her and Freddie. Everything that happened in the dreams was always way further than she and Freddie had ever gone in real life, but it was intense, amazing, incredible. The kind of dreams that startled her awake gasping for breath, sheets tangled around her, slightly sweaty. She'd been having them for months, before, during, and after she was with Freddie. And they hadn't shown a hint of slowing down any time soon.

Sam grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Carls."

"You're not going to tell me what not yet means, are you?" Carly asked with a raise of her eyebrows, and Sam shook her head. "Whatever. Night, Sam."

"Goodnight," Sam replied as she opened the door.

"Have fun dreaming of sweaty, naked Freddie!" Carly yelled, and Sam whirled around to glare at her.

"Carly! The door is OPEN!"

"What?" Carly replied innocently. "I was trying to hook you up!"

"Carls, we've been over this before, I don't need you to hook me up!"

"Fine, whatever. I guess you guys will figure it out eventually. You're gonna cave. You're gonna tell him."

Sam shook her head. "Not..."

"I know, not yet," Carly replied with a roll of her eyes. "Night, Sam."

Sam shut the door to Carly's apartment wordlessly, heading for the elevator.

It was not yet because Sam wasn't ready yet. A few things needed to change.

"Maybe when you get a little more normal."

Freddie's words echoed in her head, over and over the entire walk back to her apartment. Sam definitely wasn't normal. She didn't dress like other girls, or act like other girls, and she certainly didn't eat like other girls. To people who didn't know her, many of her habits and behavior could be rather off-putting, and apparently, it was off-putting to people that knew her too. It had cost her a boyfriend. Not just a boyfriend, but the boy she'd been madly in love with. She'd never felt this way about anyone other than Freddie, and the thing was, she didn't want to. She just wanted Freddie back.

Sam looked into her message bag, running her fingers over Carly's skirt. It was bright pink and plaid, a little short, and it was drastic. Something totally outside the realm of Sam. But it was...normal. Girly. Pink. She felt slightly bad for taking it without asking, but of course, she'd return it. Carly had no idea how much stuff Sam "borrowed" of hers, because it would end up back in Carly's closet before she had a chance to notice it gone. Sam would be doing the same thing tomorrow with this skirt.

And the purple sweater she'd swiped as well. The plaid skirt had little hints of purple running through it, and would complement the sweater well. Sam just hoped her boobs wouldn't stretch it out too bad. At the thought of her breasts, Sam groaned a little. They were getting bigger every day, and all the guys at school stared at them constantly. Everyone except Freddie. She'd caught him looking before, but ever since they broke up, he'd stopped. She couldn't be sure if it was because he was a gentleman, or if he had just lost interest.

But tomorrow, in the little miniskirt and sweater a size too small, she'd find out. She'd look...normal. And she'd try to act normal. Whatever he wanted, she would do.

As long as it meant she could have him back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Freddie frowned as he stood a few feet away from his lockers, glaring at all the guys that surrounded them. How was he supposed to get through there? Class was going to start soon, he was going to be late!

He took a deep breath, prepared to shove his way through the crowd.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

Freddie did a double take. "Where the hell have you been?" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since the lock-in!"

"Mono," Brad said with a shrug. "You know that girl, Brianna? Don't kiss her, man."

"Wasn't planning on it," Freddie grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, what am I saying? I forgot, Sam totally planted a big ol' smack-a-roo on you at the lock-in! Pretty crazy stuff, dude!"

"Yep," Freddie replied with a shrug.

"So how'd that turn out?"

Another shrug. "We got together."

"Awesome, man! You know, I could tell you had a thing for her from the first time I watched the show! You're a lucky man, she's pretty hot! So..."

"We broke up," Freddie muttered, staring at his sneakers. Brad gave him a sympathetic look.

"Oh geez, that sucks. So she dumped you?"

"NO!" Freddie roared. "It was mutual!"

Brad rolled his eyes. "It's never mutual, man. One of you had to give. So what did it?"

"I dunno," Freddie said with a sigh. "We're just so...different."

"Opposites attract, man. So Sam's single now, huh?"

"Brad," Freddie practically growled. "I swear to god, if you go after her..."

"Whoa, man! Chill! Wasn't planning on it! I like brunettes. I'm just saying, that would explain the new look she's been rocking."

Freddie's brow furrowed, looking at Brad quizzically. "What new look? You've seen her today? Where is she?"

Brad shrugged, pointing ahead toward the lockers. "Just follow the sea of dudes, man." With that, he approached the group, shoving his way through. "Move! Outta my way! Lady with a baby!" He finally managed to get through, rifling through his backpack. "Hey, Sam! Brought you some more fudge!"

"Oh my god, you're a lifesaver!"

Freddie thought he would need someone to save his life, right then and there, give him mouth-to-mouth, as the group parted. In the middle of all of it stood Sam, wearing a skirt so short Freddie thought his eyes would pop out of his head any second. The short sleeved sweater she was wearing to go with it didn't help either, it hugged her curves so well, Freddie could feel his temperature starting to rise. He was sure if he were to pull at his shirt collar, steam would've came up!

Sam had torn the lid off the tupperware box Brad had just handed her, diving into the fudge like a person who hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Oh my god, it's so good!" she moaned, her mouth full of fudge and muffling her voice. "How do you do it? I mean, HOW Brad? It's just so..." Her eyes focused on Freddie, and she quickly wiped her mouth, shoving the box against Brad's chest. "I mean...I'm not really hungry."

"What?" Brad cried, lifting a hand to her forehead. "Don't tell me you got Mono too!"

"Back off," Sam said through gritted teeth. "You're going to smudge my makeup."

"Whoa," Brad replied, stepping back a little. "Since when do you care about makeup?"

"Since...since now!" Sam replied, still looking over at Freddie, who gave a little wave.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she echoed back in a small voice. They both stared at each other for a long moment, neither of them speaking. Freddie was unable to stop staring at Sam, her outfit, her makeup...and her hair was straight!

"What...you look different," Freddie said lamely, and Sam shrugged.

"Trying something new, I guess," she said.

"Yo, Benson, back off! You had your shot already, let someone else have a turn!" a guy said to Freddie, pushing him back a little, and Sam glared at him.

"What makes you think you're going to get a shot with me, Parker?" she shot back.

_Maybe it's the way you're dressed_, Freddie thought. Or at least, he was under the impression that he'd thought it, not that he'd said it out loud. But he had, and Sam had heard him. She stared at him for a moment, glaring, and Freddie couldn't figure out whether he had hurt her feelings or made her angry.

"Real nice, Freddie," she said with a shake of her head, shoving past him and heading for the girls' bathroom. The group of guys dissipated, leaving Freddie standing there with no one but Brad.

"Well, that was smooth..." Brad commented to Freddie, who just leaned his head against the locker, sighing.

"I am such an idiot," he moaned. "But I mean...did you see her? I mean...DID YOU SEE HER?"

"Oh yeah, I saw her. Girl only dresses like that when she wants something."

"But what does she want?" he practically yelled, and Brad shrugged, slapping him on the back.

"If you can't figure out that one on your own, you're not as smart as you think you are, man."

"Oh god, what does that mean?" Freddie moaned. "Dude, you've gotta help me with this. That girl is...hard to figure out sometimes."

"Hey, you've known her a lot longer than I have," Brad replied with a shrug. "But you'd better figure it out soon, or somebody else is going to decide to figure her out for you." With that, he gave Freddie a pointed look before walking away, leaving Freddie leaned against the lockers, puzzling.

Why was Sam dressed like that? Think, Freddie! She'd pulled this before, a few years ago, when she'd had a crush on that Pete guy. It hadn't panned out, and Sam had never gotten dressed up for another guy again. Not even Freddie.

When he thought about that, it bothered him. Why hadn't she made an effort to get all dolled up for him like that? And why was she doing it now?

Freddie groaned, his head hanging down. She must have a thing for another guy. It'd only been a few weeks since they'd broken up, and she was over him, moved on already. She'd said that she loved him! Didn't that mean anything?

_You idiot,_ Freddie thought morosely. _She only said it after YOU said it. She didn't want you to feel bad._

Yep, it was obvious. Sam Puckett had moved on, left him in the dust. She had her eye on another guy already. Freddie almost felt a sense of betrayal, but there was nothing he could do. She wasn't his anymore. They were just friends now, and he'd have to accept it. Not only accept it, but move on.

"The best way to get over an old girl is to get under a new one," T-Bo had said. Freddie grimaced just thinking about it. It wasn't exactly a tasteful mantra, and technically Freddie had never been "under" Sam, but he got the point of what T-Bo was trying to say. Freddie would never get over Sam as long as he kept thinking about her, and the easiest way to get her off his mind was to think about someone else.

But who? There wasn't any girl he was interested in, other than Sam. His crush on Carly had been dead for years, just a boyhood obsession. He thought of Carly as a sister now, and he didn't exactly hang out with a lot of other girls.

As he leaned against the locker, he caught sight of the diminuitive redhead that passed by, giving him a shy smile.

"Hey, Freddie."

"Hey Wendy," Freddie replied.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and staring at Freddie, seeming to be concerned.

"Nothing, just..."

"Let me guess, you're all upset about Sam moving on?"

"What?" he barked. "What are you talking about?"

Wendy laughed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Come on, I know Sam. She only makes that kind of effort if she's into a guy."

"Do you know who it is?" Freddie couldn't help but ask, and Wendy shrugged.

"No clue. But I mean...I know she's your friend, she's mine too, but...she just didn't seem to treat you all that well."

"She treated me fine," Freddie replied stoically. When they were away from other people and together, Sam had been a different person. Sweet. Cuddly. Caring. A side of her he hadn't known existed, but was delighted to discover. And then it had all disappeared, and Freddie wished he'd never discovered it at all. It was like showing a starving man a t-bone steak, giving him a bite, and then just as quickly taking it away. Freddie had been left starving for Sam. And alone. He felt so incredibly alone, even when she was standing right in front him.

This had to end, Freddie thought with a shake of his head. He was going to go insane if he didn't move on and forget about her. Maybe it would be hard at first, but...he had to do it.

"Hey, Wendy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you doing anything after school?" Freddie asked, and Wendy shrugged.

"Not really, why?"

"Just thought maybe you'd wanna hang out," Freddie replied, and Wendy looked at him curiously.

"Are you asking me out?" Wendy asked. "Like...on a date?"

"Well...well yeah. I guess I am," Freddie responded. "Is that okay with you?"

Wendy stared at him for a second, and Freddie was surprised to find himself actually feeling nervous, until her face broke into a smile and she nodded fervently.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'd love to!"

"Really?" Freddie asked, a little taken aback, and Wendy nodded again.

"Freddie, don't take this the wrong way, but you spent so long pining over your two best friends, first Carly, then Sam...you didn't take the time to realize that...you've grown up. Pretty nicely, if you ask me. And the other girls? They notice." Freddie stared at Wendy, slightly dumbfounded, and Wendy continued. "You may just be Freddie the tech producer to Sam and Carly, but not to everyone else. I'll see you after school." She gave him a quick squeeze on his arm before heading off to class.

Well, that was surprising! Freddie couldn't believe Wendy had agreed to a date so quickly, and he definitely couldn't believe what she had said about the way Carly and Sam saw him. He'd always felt like nothing more than a nerd to girls, and maybe it was because the two he spent all his time around thought of him that way. But he'd never once stopped to entertain the fact that not every girl saw him that way. He knew he wasn't hideous, but he'd never thought of himself as particularly appealing. But maybe he'd been wrong.

And maybe, just maybe, it was time to find out.

"Asshole," Sam muttered to herself as she stood in the girls' bathroom, wiping her face.

She felt so stupid, and for that she was angry. Angry at herself for thinking something as stupid as a simple costume change would have any bearings on how Freddie would feel about her. Angry at the powers that be for allowing herself to have feelings so intense she would actually consider doing this. It was so obvious, why didn't she see it? Freddie was over her.

But mostly, she was angry at him. Angry for making her cry. He'd insinuated the only reason guys were paying attention to her was because of the way she was dressed. Deep down, she knew it was true. Guys didn't notice her, except when they were afraid of her. She'd spent a lifetime trying to be big bad Sam Puckett to avoid getting hurt, and it had worked. Nobody would dream of hurting Sam Puckett and getting away with it.

But the problem was, nobody would dream of touching Sam Puckett either. She'd never been the type to attract endless scores of guys...that was Carly's department. She tried to not hold it against her best friend, but it was difficult. The most difficult had been all the years of watching Freddie chase after Carly like a lost puppy. Hopelessly in love with her, and the only thing Sam had wanted was for Freddie to look at her that way. And it had happened. She'd finally had her shot. But like everything, she'd managed to screw it up.

As Sam stood in the bathroom, she thought about the past. Remembering the girls' choice dance, and how she hadn't even been good enough for Gibby. That part was depressing enough. But the icing on the cake had been walking into the Groovie Smoothie and watching Freddie and Carly slow dance. She'd walked out without making a sound, went straight home, took off those stupid clothes, and curled up into bed. And she'd cried. She'd cried for hours, all over Freddie.

She'd cried the night they'd broken up too. And the next morning. And a few days after that, clinging to the memory of kissing him in that elevator. She'd suggested putting it off a few hours, desperately trying to hold onto what was left. And Freddie had bought it, but only because he liked making out. Intense, he'd called it. Fun, even.

Was that all she was to him? Fun? Had he ever loved her?

"Of course not," she said aloud as she glared at her reflection, pulling that stupid skirt down an inch to cover her legs. She felt like she was completely naked in this thing. Similar to the way she felt when Freddie looked at her with those gorgeous brown eyes. She felt naked. Like every part of her soul was laid bare. She couldn't hide from him. She couldn't hide her feelings, and she couldn't hide how much it hurt.

_He only told he loved me so I wouldn't feel bad_, she thought morosely. Freddie was a nice guy, he didn't like to hurt people on purpose. Sam knew he wasn't trying to hurt her on purpose, but he couldn't pretend anymore. She wasn't normal enough for him. She wasn't pretty enough to make him turn his head, even when she was dressed like this. She wasn't sweet enough.

She wasn't good enough.

Sam had always known she wasn't girlfriend material, but she'd hoped with everything in her that maybe Freddie saw her differently. Who was she kidding? To go from years of making his life miserable to his girlfriend?

"You are a stupid girl, Puckett," she muttered, frowning when she realized she was still crying. This had to stop! If somebody got a load of this, she'd never be able to live it down. Tough girl Sam, crying? Tough girl Sam, having feelings? She'd be a sitting duck!

She jumped when she heard the bathroom door open, darting into one of the stalls and shutting it quickly at the sound of two girls laughing. She recognized the sound of Wendy's voice, and another girl named Becca. Sam carefully pressed her face against the stall door, looking between the cracks.

"I can't believe you're going to go out with Freddie Benson!" Becca exclaimed, and Wendy just giggled.

"I know. He's adorable."

_What? Freddie's going to go out with Wendy? Guess he really is over me,_ Sam thought grimly. She just didn't expect him to move on so soon.

"Don't you think that's a bad idea?" Becca asked. "I mean, if his ex hears about..."

"I'm not too worried," Wendy replied. "Sam's my friend."

"All the more reason you SHOULDN'T go out with him! That's just gonna make her madder!"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about it. She's over him. You can tell. I mean, she acts like he doesn't even exist. She doesn't even bother to make fun of him and hit him anymore."

_You don't know shit,_ Sam thought angrily. If Wendy had any idea how many nights Sam laid awake thinking about Freddie, crying over him even, she wouldn't go anywhere near him. Some friend.

"Wow," Becca commented. "And she's been doing that forever. Guess she is over him then."

"Yeah. Girl didn't know what she had. But her loss, my gain. Come on, we're gonna be late for class."

Sam waited for them to leave, before opening the door and creeping out, taking a deep breath to maintain her composure. She knew exactly what she had. Freddie was everything to her, and now he was gone. She'd thought that she still had a chance to get him back, but she was wrong.

Sam sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head.

"You're an idiot, Puckett. Why would he want you?" She glared at her reflection, before letting out a snort. "Just look at you."

Unable to do anything else, and fearing she might cry again, Sam grabbed her bookbag and headed back into the hallway. She was late for class again, as usual, and she'd probably get detention, but who cared? Nobody. That was part of the problem. Nobody cared for Samantha Puckett.

As Sam walked down the hallway, she picked up her pace a bit, so she wouldn't be too late, and turned the corner, colliding with someone and sending both of them straight to the floor.

"Walk much?" Sam snapped as she regained her bearings. She moved to pick up her bag which had fallen to the floor, stopping when she nearly butted heads with the guy that had knocked her down.

"Sorry," he said, leaning back on his heels.

"Maybe watch where you're going next time," Sam grumbled, snatching her bag up and gaining her feet. The guy smirked at her, shaking his head. "What's so damn funny?" Sam barked.

The guy shrugged, tossing his hair back. "You're a feisty one."

"Yeah, and I haven't had my shots, so back off!" Sam growled.

"Whoa," the guy said, taking a step back. "Very feisty. Sam Puckett, right?"

Sam eyed the guy wearily, pulling her backpack strap further up on her shoulder. "How do you know my name?"

"Everybody knows your name. iCarly? You're Sam."

"Oh, right," Sam muttered. The guy stared at her for a long time, and realizing she wasn't going to ask for his name, gave the introductions.

"I'm Anthony."

"Okay," Sam replied. "And?"

"And...you look nice."

Sam was visibly taken aback, not used to hearing compliments, particularly from strangers. "Uh...thanks?"

"Just get your motor skills going, and you'll be in good shape," Anthony said with a wink. "Gotta go, see ya around, Sam."

"Uh, bye..." Sam replied, still a little uneasy about what had transpired. After she'd gotten to her feet, she had recognized the guy. Anthony Collins. He was a senior, and on some sports team. Basketball or something. Why was he complimenting her, especially after she'd just knocked him flat on his ass?

"Probably just trying to be nice," Sam grumbled to herself before heading on down the hallway.

School that day was a blur. All she could think was 'Freddie is going out with Wendy. He doesn't want me.' As much as she tried to stop thinking about it, she couldn't. The worst part was having two classes with Freddie, science and geometry. She couldn't even bear to look at him, but she was painfully aware of how close he was. They sat next to each other in both classes. They always had, even before they started dating. In the beginning, Sam had done it to bother Freddie, because she enjoyed picking on him. But now, it was bothering her. How can anyone stand to be so close to someone they were desperately in love with, who didn't love them back? All she could do was ignore him. Pull the silent treatment, even when he asked her a direct question.

_What the hell is wrong with her,_ Freddie asked himself as he looked over at Sam in geometry class, staring stoically ahead and looking like she was paying attention for once. _Man, I must have really pissed her off this __morning_. He hadn't even meant to say it aloud, it was just a passing thought, and the idea of other guys looking at Sam made him angry and jealous. Truth to be told, Sam was gorgeous. She was gorgeous every day, but today, in that skirt and that sweater, Freddie couldn't look away from her. His eyes kept traveling over the expanse of her legs, back up to the outline of her perfect form in that tight-fitting sweater. It wasn't fair. What was she trying to do, drive him crazy? Remind him of what he couldn't have? This was too cruel, even for her! But the cruelest thing of all was this whole silent treatment she was giving him. Despite everything that had happened, he'd still been able to talk to her, even if it was a little awkward. Now she wasn't even giving him that! He briefly wondered if word had gotten back to Sam about his impending date with Wendy, but he quickly brushed that thought aside. Sam was over him, it wasn't like she would care. But now she was acting like they weren't even friends!

He turned to a fresh page in his notebook, scribbling a quick note to her.

_'Why are you being like this? First the clothes, now the silent treatment? Trying to rub it in my face how insignificant I am to you?'_ He wrote the note out quickly and tore it out of his notebook, hastily folding it a few times before looking back over at her. She was still staring straight ahead.

"Sam," he hissed, trying to get her attention. "Sam!"

She wouldn't look at him, but by the way her eyes darted over, Freddie knew she had heard him. And she probably saw the note too, but she wasn't budging. With a sigh, Freddie quickly glanced ahead to make sure Mr. Howard was still writing on the whiteboard, his back facing them, and tossed the note onto Sam's desk, waiting with baited breath.

She looked down with an expression of disdain on her face, like the expression someone would have regarding a fly in their soup. And then, to Freddie's great surprise and chagrin, she took the note in her hand, stood up, and calmly walked to the front of the room, depositing the note in the trash can. Freddie was absolutely stunned as Sam walked back to her desk without meeting his eyes and calmly sat back down.

"Sam!" he hissed. "I'm sorry for this morning! You can't ignore me forever!"

"Mr. Howard!" Sam called, her hand shooting up, and he turned around to glare at her.

"What?" he snapped.

"Can I change seats with Gibby?" she asked, ignoring the wounded expression on Freddie's face.

"What for?" Mr. Howard responded.

"I'm having trouble concentrating," Sam quipped. Mr. Howard sighed, waving her to go ahead, and she quickly stood up, grabbing her belongings and knocking Gibby out of his desk with no warning. Freddie was still in shock as Gibby sat down next to him, leaning towards him conspiratorially.

"What'd you do?" Gibby asked quietly. "She's mad!"

"I don't know!" Freddie responded. "But one thing's for sure."

"What?"

"I give up."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_This isn't going to work_, Freddie thought morosely as he sat across from Wendy at the Groovie Smoothie. Wendy was sweet, funny, and cute, but the only thing Freddie could think was that she wasn't Sam.

Wendy was definitely considered a catch at Ridgeway High School, the kind of girl any guy would be lucky to get, and a lot of guys had a thing for her. And maybe, in a different life, Freddie might have had a thing for her too. If it wasn't for Sam.

Wendy didn't have Sam's sharp, biting wit, or those big blue eyes that seemed to stare into Freddie's soul. Wendy seemed to have a passion for everything she did, and that was cool, but something about Sam that had always stood out to Freddie was she only cared about three things: food, iCarly, and tormenting him. If she put that much effort into tormenting him, she had to care, right?

Thing was, she didn't torment him anymore. And now she was acting like he didn't exist. She'd refused to talk to him, changed seats even! It had been a slap in the face to Freddie. In every class they'd had together since seventh grade, Sam had sat next to him. Since forever, they'd been a pair, although an unlikely one, two people who hated each other brought together by one thing, iCarly. But it had been more than that. Behind all that hatred, there'd been a deep, unquenchable longing for each other, the years of frustration coming out via fights and prank wars. Until the smoke and dust of their battles had cleared, the facade had been lifted, and they'd only been left with each other, and the feelings they'd tried for years to cover up.

But all that was over now, Freddie surmised, and he couldn't keep living in the past. But still, Wendy? It troubled him that here was a girl who obviously liked him, a cute one at that, and he still felt nothing. The only thing he wanted to do was run back to Sam.

They were having rehearsals tonight, for iCarly, and Freddie was determined to call her out. Why the silent treatment? Why the sudden change in her appearance? What was going on with her? Before all this crazy stuff happened between them, they were friends, and Freddie missed that. As much as he hated the idea of not being with her, the idea of not having her in his life at all was worse.

So Freddie sat there, sipping his smoothie as Wendy talked, trying to be polite, but not encourage her too much either. He wasn't ready for this. Not yet. He wasn't ready to get over Sam. Maybe one day, he would, but...not any time soon.

There was no point in pretending.

**oOoOoOoOo**

_I knew I shouldn't have been late_, Sam groaned to herself as she sat in detention, idly tapping her pencil against her notebook and staring at the clock. Three tardies and it was an automatic detention, and now Sam was stuck here for an entire hour. This sucked. She was going to be late for rehearsals again, and Carly would yell at her, again.

Truth to be told, however, she wasn't looking forward to rehearsals. She didn't want to see Freddie. Sam didn't know whether he'd been on his date already, and she didn't want to hear about it. And if she hadn't, she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about Freddie at all, but she couldn't help it.

She was still in shock about the whole thing, Freddie going out with Wendy, and angry he had moved on so fast. Like she'd never even existed, like what they had meant nothing. Who was she kidding, it had meant nothing. At least to Freddie. He hadn't even noticed the way she tried to look like a girl who suited his tastes more, except to make that horrible comment. And she was so angry he'd made her cry!

_Nobody gets away with making Sam Puckett cry,_ she thought fiercely. _I should kick his ass. At least then I'd get to touch him again...no! What is wrong with you, you idiot? He doesn't want you! Stop wanting him! _

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening, hitting the wall with a resounding bang, and her eyes settled on the intruder.

"Mr. Collins," Ms. Briggs stated tersely. "Late again for detention I see."

"Punctuality isn't my thing," Anthony said with a wry smile, and Ms. Briggs gave him a disgusted look, waving him to sit down. He looked around the room, eyes settling on Sam, then the empty desk next to her. It was empty because even all the bad seeds in detention knew better than to sit next to her, lest they incur Sam's wrath.

But Anythony wasn't deterred. He didn't seem to be afraid of her at all. Just intrigued...a little amused even, and he strode across the room, taking the empty seat next to Sam. Sam tried to ignore him, to focus on the doodles she was making in her notebook, but she could feel Anthony's eyes on her. Annoyed, she lifted her head to glare at him.

"Can I help you?"

"Miss Puckett!" Ms. Briggs shouted. "Quiet!"

Sam rolled her eyes, looking back down at her notebook, back to doodling. But still, she could feel Anthony still staring at her, and she looked up again.

"What?" she mouthed, and he just smirked at her.

"You're cute," he mouthed back, and Sam sat back in her seat a little, obviously shocked by what he'd said. Was he, a boy, hitting on her? This was new! Freddie had never even hit on her, and they'd dated!

"So?" she replied silently, and he just shrugged.

_Ugh,_ Sam thought to herself. _He's just messing with me. What else is new?_

Detention seemed to go on forever, and Ms. Briggs even kept them late, just to be difficult, in Sam's mind. She wanted to pick up her bags and run out of there, and she started to, but as she was leaving, Anthony stopped her.

"Where you running off to so fast, Puckett?" he asked, smiling at her.

_Well, he is kind of cute_, Sam had to admit. He had light brown hair and clear blue eyes, with a thin but muscular frame, quite a bit taller than her.

"Rehearsals, why?" Sam answered.

"What, for your webshow?"

"No, for the Grand Ol' Opry," she snapped. "Of course the webshow! Why do you care?"

"Why don't you skip it?" he asked, and Sam gave him a perplexed look.

"Why would I skip it?"

"So you could do something else."

"Like what?" she asked. "Are you just being cryptic to aggravate me, or does it come naturally?"

"Everything I do comes naturally to me," he said with a laugh, and Sam felt her cheeks heat up. Why? It was obviously an innuendo for something else, but why did it make her blush? Anthony continued, undeterred. "Why don't you come hang out with me?"

"What, like a date?" Sam had to laugh at that, because she knew in a million years that wouldn't happen. Boys did not ask Sam Puckett out on dates. Boys ignored Sam Puckett. Boys feared Sam Puckett. And like Freddie, boys forgot Sam Puckett.

"Yes, on a date!" Anthony replied with a roll of his eyes. "What, you think I just wanna be friends? How could a guy be just friends with someone who looks like you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sam snapped, her hands on her hips, and Anthony rolled his eyes.

"Are you always this defensive?" he asked. "Forget it. It was a compliment. You're obviously not interested." He turned to leave, and Sam grabbed his forearm, a little taken aback by how muscular it was.

"No, wait. I'm sorry. I...I'm interested. I'd love to, actually."

"Cool," Anthony said with a nod. "So let's go."

"Sure," Sam said. "Just let me text Carly real quick, let her know I'm not coming."

Sam pulled her phone out, quickly firing off a text to Carly, before sliding her phone back into her bag, looking up at Anthony. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Great. Wanna get some food?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Sam responded. She followed Anthony down the hallway and out of the school to the parking lot, her eyes widening a little as they approached Anthony's car.

"Whoa...that's a nice car. Is it a..."

"Mercedes?" he finished. "Yep, it was a gift from my parents for my sixteenth birthday."

"Must be nice," Sam grumbled as Anthony held open the passenger door for her and she slid in. A moment later and they were off. Anthony was making small talk, trying to get to know her better, and Sam obliged. He was nice. He was cute. He was obviously loaded.

_But you are not Freddie_, she thought to herself. Then again, if he was Freddie, she wouldn't be doing this. Because Freddie was over her.

_I guess you'll have to do._

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Oh god, you've gotta be kidding me," Carly groaned as she looked down at her phone, glaring at her latest text message.

Sam: Can't make it. On a date. With ANTHONY COLLINS. Can u believe this?

Sam, on a date with another guy? What happened to not being over Freddie? What happened to the cryptic 'not yet'? What was going on?

"What's wrong?" Freddie asked from his spot on the floor where he was fiddling with the lights.

"Sam's not coming."

"Why?" Freddie asked, looking up at her. _Oh god, did I really make her THAT mad? She's avoiding me!_

"She's..." Carly bit her lip, not sure if she should say it aloud or not. Carly knew that Sam still harbored feelings for Freddie, but she was unsure of Freddie's feelings for Sam. "She's on a date."

"A what?" Freddie exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "With who?"

"Anthony Collins."

"The basketball player?" Freddie snapped. "He's a senior! He's way too old for her!"

"Why do you care?" Carly asked pointedly. "You guys broke up."

"I...I don't," Freddie grumbled, sitting back down. "Just...don't want it to affect the show, that's all."

Carly rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath, and Freddie gave her an exasperated look.

"What'd you say?"

"I said you're a liar! You still care about Sam!"

"As a friend," Freddie replied, surprised at the way his own voice wavered. He hoped Carly wouldn't notice, but of course she did, and narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head.

"I don't believe you. I saw how you two were together, you can't just get over somebody like that when you have that level of chemistry."

"So we had chemistry, big deal. That's all we had, remember? No shared interests?"

"Yeah, but...look, I didn't mean to put that stuff in you guys' heads. You had years of friendship backing it up, insane chemistry, and...maybe you didn't share the same interests, but...you were sweet together. I don't understand why you guys broke up."

_I don't understand either,_ Freddie thought grimly. _I love that crazy blonde, why did I ever let her go? Now she's on a date with some other guy!_

Freddie tried to put the thought out of his head. The fact that he was still in love with Sam, and the fact that right now, some other guy was out with her. He could be touching her, kissing her...the thought made Freddie's blood boil.

"So...then why'd you say it? You confused her."

Carly sighed, flopping down in one of the beanbags. "I don't know! Maybe...maybe I was jealous," she replied, and Freddie's eyebrows went up.

"Jealous?" he asked, and Carly rolled her eyes.

"Not over you! I mean, no offense, you're just not my type."

"Duly noted," Freddie grumbled.

"But...I was alone, and you guys were...in love. So...I got jealous. Said things I didn't mean. And now look what's happened! You guys are both miserable!"

"She doesn't seem too miserable," Freddie commented. "She's off with some stupid jock!"

"So you ARE jealous," Carly pointed out, and Freddie just crossed his arms over his chest, looking away.

"Doesn't matter. I had a date of my own, this afternoon. After school."

"WHAT?" Carly shrieked, scrambling to her feet. "Why? Who? Oh my god, why Freddie? Why?"

"I went on a date with Wendy."

"Oh. My. God," Carly replied, her hand covering her mouth. She shook her head, hair falling in her face. "You idiot."

"What? If Sam's moved on, maybe I should too. You saw the way she was dressed today. She's putting it all out there. The same way she did with Pete."

"Sam and Wendy are friends, what is wrong with you?" Carly cried. "Do you want Wendy to get pummeled to the ground? Do you? Because Sam's gonna kill her!"

"Sam is over me!" Freddie shouted. "Do you not get that? Do I need to point out again, she's getting herself all dolled up to get attention from other guys?"

"How do you know it wasn't to get attention from you?" Carly shot back, and Freddie stared at her for a moment, shaking his head.

"She never did it before."

"And then you guys broke up! Do the words drastic measures mean ANYTHING to you, Freddie?"

Freddie puzzled over the idea for a moment before releasing it, shaking his head again. "Then why is she out with another guy?"

Carly sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Does Sam know? About the date with Wendy?"

"I don't think so," Freddie replied. "But I wouldn't know. She won't talk to me."

"Why?" Carly asked, her brow furrowed.

"Well...this morning, I saw her. The way she was dressed, hair all straight, makeup. And there was this crowd of guys around her, and...it made me jealous, okay? So I may have insinuated that she was only getting attention because she was dressed...provocatively."

Carly didn't speak, just shoved past him, laying her head on the desk and groaning.

"What? What is it?"

"Boys are such idiots," she replied, lifting her head to glare at him. "Obviously you hurt her feelings, and if she didn't beat you to a pulp and just stopped talking, that means you REALLY hurt her feelings. Got it?"

"I don't know," Freddie said slowly. "I mean, Sam's a tough girl, you know? I don't think one little comment would have hit her that hard."

"You don't get girls, do you?" Carly asked. "It doesn't matter if Sam's a tough girl, she's still a girl! And from the right person, one little comment can absolutely make or break your day. You hurt her, Freddie. That's why she's not talking. That's why she's on a date right now."

Freddie let out an aggravated sigh, his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem," Carly put in, and Freddie glared at her. "Go find her. Apologize."

"I have no idea where she is," Freddie responded, thinking it over. "Maybe...maybe I'll just go to her apartment. And wait."

"Sounds like a good idea," Carly replied. "You should go, now."

"You're right, I should." With that, Freddie grabbed his jacket, heading out and shutting the studio door behind him, leaving Carly to shake her head.

It was so obvious, neither one of them were over each other, but they were just stubborn. Those two were really clueless when it came to romance.

But then again, maybe she was too. After all, Sam and Freddie had managed to get together, and Carly was just left in the background. She'd been single ever since Steven, the stupid guy who'd cheated on her with that Tori chick. It had hurt, and left a huge scar on Carly's heart. Aside from a few hopeless dates here and there, Carly was still single. Still lonely.

It wasn't like she was pining over anyone either, she didn't even have unrequited love to go on. She was just Carly. Alone. With her magnetic fish.

Okay, so she was being a little dramatic, as was her way. She tried to just be positive. The right guy would come along one day.

Wouldn't he?

**OooOoOoO**

"Sorry for getting us kicked out of the arcade," Sam said with a shrug as Anthony pulled up outside her apartment complex.

Anthony laughed a little, shaking his head. "Well, it's cool. But you know, you're supposed to roll the balls at skee ball, not throw them like a pitcher!"

"I really hope that old lady didn't get a concussion," Sam said morosely.

Anthony laughed again, leaning back in his seat. "You're funny," he stated. "And cute."

"So are you," Sam said, biting her lip. _You're just not Freddie._

"So...you think you might want to go out again?" Anthony asked, and Sam shrugged.

"I'll let you know."

"Ah, playing hard to get," Anthony observed. "Interesting. Most girls fall all over themselves to get at me."

Sam couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, perturbed by Anthony's display of cockiness. At least Freddie wasn't cocky. But that was because he just didn't have very much luck with the ladies, until Sam came along. Had he only gotten with her because he couldn't find anyone else?

Sam sighed, looking down at the stupid pink skirt she was still wearing and pulling it down an inch. He'd sure found someone now...Wendy. Was he with her now? Did he like her more than he liked Sam? Did he even think about Sam anymore?

Sam was so lost in her own thoughts she hadn't even noticed that Anthony had gotten out of the car, walked around, and opened her car door. She jumped at the noise, startled right out of her intense thoughts of Freddie, looking up at Anthony, who offered her his hand, helping her out of the car.

"You seem a little distracted," Anthony observed. "You're not going to go out with me again, are you?"

Sam shrugged a little. "Look, it's...I just broke up with someone, not too long ago."

"Who? Benson? The nerd?"

"Shut up!" Sam cried, shoving at his shoulder. "He's not a nerd. He's...okay, fine, he's a nerd."

"Well, get over him," Anthony replied as they walked down the sidewalk towards Sam's apartment complex. "If he let you go, he doesn't deserve you. Move on."

"Yeah," Sam said softly. "I guess I should, right?"

"Right," Anthony replied, his hand going to her shoulder and stopping her in her tracks. She looked up at him strangely, and he just smirked at her. "I'll help you," he murmured, bending his head, and Sam knew what was coming.

Anthony brushed his lips over Sam's, one hand going to her back and pulling against him. He was smooth, his lips moving soft and fluidly against hers. He was a good kisser. He smelled nice. He was warm. He was cute.

But he wasn't Freddie! Sam's mind screamed that over and over as he kissed her. There wasn't the spark, the tension, the years of pent-up frustration that she had felt in Freddie's kisses. The way he held her waist, pressing her against him urgently, kissing her like he wanted to devour her, but at the same time wanted it to last forever. Like he couldn't get enough of her.

Anthony, on the other hand, it seemed like he was kissing her because he was supposed to. Because he was a guy, she was a girl, and that's what guys and girls do. It lacked the passion she felt when she kissed Freddie. It felt nice, sure, but that was all. She felt nothing. She didn't want to kiss Anthony, she wanted to kiss Freddie. Every day, for the rest of her life.

Anthony, wrapped up in the feeling of kissing Sam, and Sam, wrapped up in her angst over Freddie, were so occupied with what was going on in their little microcosm, they didn't see the figure standing about fifty feet away, leaned up against the wall of Sam's apartment building.

Freddie's stomach twisted itself into knots, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart, like watching Sam with some other guy physically hurt him. He wanted to kill the guy, pawing his girl like that.

He shook his head mournfully. Sam wasn't his anymore, and he had a feeling he'd never get her back. So he did the only thing he could do. He shoved his hands in his pockets, turned to the right, and walked away, rushing to do so before Sam saw him. It would make him feel even worse, like a desperate, lovesick idiot.

_God, this hurts_, Freddie thought as he walked down the sidewalk, kicking tiny rocks and leaves, not bothering to wipe away the tear that trickled down his cheek. _I ruined it. She really did move on._

And as he felt that stab of boy pride hit him right in the gut, his sorrow and shame became overrun by anger, a clever emotion that hides from people their most vulnerable thoughts. He was mad, angry. He hated Anthony. He hated him for touching her, Sam, the girl he loved.

And he loved Sam so much that it hurt, and for that, he hated her too.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I really hope you guys are enjoying this story! It's about to get intense!  
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**Chapter Four**

Freddie couldn't have been in a worse mood that morning as he shoved the double doors open, storming into Ridgeway High. He blew right past Brad, who looked at him with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Freddie! Slow down!" he yelled, hurrying after him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Apparently everything!" Freddie snapped, finally arriving at his lockers and leaning against it with a groan. Brad regarded him with an even more confused expression, tentatively taking a step toward him.

"Care to elaborate, Grumpy Pants?"

"I am not Grumpy Pants!" Freddie roared.

"Okay, okay, fine! You're not Grumpy Pants," Brad stated, holding his hands up defensively. "But something's the matter. What up, dude?"

"I went to Sam's apartment yesterday to apologize for what I said, saw her kissing another guy."

Brad's eyebrows went up, and he nodded knowingly. "Ah. The plot, it thickens." He paused. "But didn't you go out with Wendy yesterday?"

"Yeah, and it was a mistake," Freddie grunted, opening his locker. "I mean, she's nice enough, I suppose. Cute, but not really my type."

"That's because you're a masochist."

"A what?" Freddie asked, looking over at Brad, who merely shrugged.

"Come on, you dated a girl who beat the crap out you for years, and you're still all torqued up over her. Sounds to me like you enjoy the pain."

"I am not still torqued up over Sam," Freddie said weakly, causing Brad to roll his eyes.

"You just said you got upset when you saw her kissing another guy. A guy who wasn't you? You still have a thing for Sam."

"I don't have a thing for her!" Freddie snapped. "Just...didn't expect her to go tongue to tongue with some guy she barely knows. Kind of slutty, if you ask me."

"Who's slutty?" Carly asked as she walked up, flanked by Sam. Carly gave a little wave to Brad, flashing him a killer smile. "Hey Brad."

"Uh...hey, Carly," he stammered, hoping she wouldn't notice. Luckily she didn't, just went right back to talking to Freddie.

Sam, on the other hand, wore a scowl on her face the entire time, staring at Freddie like she wanted to rip his face off. Brad wasn't sure if it was because she'd found out about Wendy, or overheard Freddie call her slutty, but either way, it didn't look good.

"So who's slutty?" Carly asked again, and Freddie shrugged.

"Nobody. Don't worry about it," he responded, eyes drifting over to Sam and then just as quickly snapping back, looking straight ahead. _Ugh, again with the looking amazing, Sam?_ She wasn't wearing a skirt this time, but the jeans she was wearing looked like she'd been sewn into them, they fit her so well, along with a white wifebeater and little cropped red vest, her hair straight again. She looked gorgeous. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to kiss her.

He wanted to...kill himself. She was all dolled up again, but it was obvious it was over that stupid Anthony guy. And that just made Freddie madder.

Sam was mad too, because she couldn't get the idea of Wendy and Freddie together out of her hand. She'd had a dream last night about the two of them, which could only be described as a nightmare.

'I never loved you,' Freddie had told Sam in the dream, before passionately kissing Wendy. 'I love her. I loved Carly. But I never loved you. You were just a toy.'

She could hear the words echoing inside her head, over and over, and she was starting to believe it. The more she stared at Freddie, in one of his signature polo shirts that made his biceps look absolutely mouthwatering, the angrier she got. She tried to hold her tongue, but hey, she was Sam Puckett. Sam Puckett never could hold her tongue.

"Heard you're with Wendy now," she said icily, glaring at Freddie, voice dripping with venom.

Carly and Brad stopped what they were doing, staring at each other in alarm. They'd expected this to happen, but that didn't mean they wanted to be caught in the cross-fires when it did!

"We went out," Freddie replied casually. "Heard you've been sucking face with a jock. That's surprising."

"Oh? Why's that? Surprised that somebody actually wants me?" Sam shot back.

Freddie glared at her, shaking his head. _Stupid girl_, he thought. _I want you! Quit wasting your time with that idiot!_

"No, it's surprising because I never pegged you for the type to just...spread yourself around so quickly."

"Oh..." Carly groaned, edging away from the two and Brad following suit.

"Freeze, Carly!" Sam said, her hand going up in the air and not even bothering to look at her. Carly sighed, her head hanging down mournfully. This was going to get so bad.

"I should probably..."

"Brad, don't move," Freddie growled, and Brad stopped in his tracks, leaning against the lockers. Great, now he was going to end up as collateral damage! He'd just gotten better, he didn't want to die so young.

"I never pegged you to be such a dick!" Sam hissed, taking a step toward Freddie, then coming to a pause when she realized she was close enough to smell his cologne, crisp and fresh and woodsy. It'd always driven her crazy, and it seemed like that hadn't changed yet. She shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, shuffling a few steps backward.

"Well that was incredibly intelligent," Freddie said sarcastically. "Not surprising, coming from you."

"Oh, so I'm slutty and an idiot now?"

"Hey, you said it, not me," Freddie replied with a laugh. _Oh god_, he thought. _Why am I doing this? Sam, you drive me crazy. You make me so crazy I can't control my anger around you. _

They stared at each other for a long moment, like two lions on the savannah ready to do battle.

_Walk away Freddie,_ Sam urged silently. _Walk away, or the next thing I say or do is really gonna hurt you._

Freddie opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get it out, a voice on the other side of the hallway called out Sam's name, and she turned her head to look. Freddie practically growled as he caught sight of Anthony walking toward their group, his eyes glued to Sam.

"Wow, you look really hot today," he commented, and Sam glared over at Freddie, before giving Anthony a sweet smile.

"Thanks," she replied. "You do too."

"A compliment? From you? Must be doing something right," Anthony said with a smile.

"Oh, you do lots of things right," Sam gushed, her eyes quickly darting over to Freddie. _So he thinks I'm slutty now? Did he always think of me that way? Let's see what you think of this, Benson._ She ran her hand up Anthony's chest, not noticing the way Freddie's hands clenched into fists and he had to quickly shove them into his pockets so he wouldn't hit anything. Of course, Anthony loved it, his hands going to the small of Sam's back, and Freddie had to use every bit of strength in him not to punch Anthony, or run away, or cry. He was furious right now, and he wasn't going to let Sam get away with making him feel this way.

"So, I was thinking, about what you said," Sam stated, staring at Anthony. "We should totally go out again."

"Cool," he responded. "I'll pick you up later tonight, after practice is over. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," she replied. "See you later."

Anthony walked away, and Freddie was absolutely fuming. Carly and Brad were more than aware how upset he was, but Sam acted like she didn't even notice.

"Isn't he hot, Carly?" she asked, ignoring Freddie. "You know he drives a Mercedes."

"Only a matter of time before you start leaving heel marks on the ceiling," Freddie blurted out, and Sam whirled around, looking like she was going to kill him.

"FREDDIE!" Carly exclaimed, covering her mouth. "Oh my god!"

Sam stared at him for a long moment, taking a step toward him, and then her fist shot forward. Freddie squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating a punch to the face, jumping in surprise at the loud banging sound. He realized she'd hit the locker behind him, inches away from his head. He opened his eyes, and Sam was still leering at him.

"You are completely worthless," she hissed. "I can't believe I wasted a second of my life on you. I HATE YOU." She slammed her fist into the locker again, before turning on her heel and storming away, leaving Freddie stunned.

"FREDDIE!" Carly yelled, slapping him in the chest. "Why'd you say that? Why are you such a moron?"

"I don't know!" he replied, his voice pained. "I just...watching them all over each other like that, I lost it."

"I told you to tell her how you felt!" Carly cried. "I thought you were going to her apartment last night to tell her how you felt!"

"I did go!" Freddie shouted. "I waited for almost an hour for her! And when I finally saw her, she was kissing him! It's over, Carly! And I can't stand by and watch that shit!"

"How are we supposed to work together?" she demanded. "How?"

"I don't know," Freddie sighed. "I..." he trailed off as he caught sight of Wendy passing by, moving around Brad and Carly to catch up to her. Sam wanted to paw all over someone else to make him jealous? Fine. He'd do the same.

"Wendy!" Freddie yelled, rushing over to her. She turned to look at him, a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Freddie!" she exclaimed. "How's it going?"

"Good," he said with a nod. "Really good."

"Oh," she said, playing with the strap on her backpack. "Well that's...good."

There was a long moment of awkwardness between the two, neither of them sure what to say, and Freddie cleared his throat.

"Listen, I forgot to do something yesterday. Two things, actually."

"Okay..." Wendy said uncertainly.

"First of all, do you wanna go out again?" Freddie asked, and a big grin crossed her face.

"Yeah, I wanna go out!" she exclaimed. "Totally!"

"Awesome," Freddie responded with a nod. "That's really cool."

"So what was the other?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The other thing you forgot to do?"

"Oh," Freddie said. "Um...this..." He leaned forward slowly, watching as Wendy closed her eyes.

Freddie had every intention of kissing Wendy on the lips, to move on and kiss someone else like Sam had done. But for some reason, he just couldn't do it. Something held him back, and so he merely kissed her on the cheek.

Wendy looked slightly disappointed, but she forced a smile anyway, one hand going to his arm.

"You're...a gentleman," she said. "I like it. It's sweet."

Freddie glanced over at Carly and Brad, who were both glaring at him and shaking their heads, identical scowls plastered across their faces, before looking over at Wendy. He had to do this. If Sam could move on, forget about him just like that, then so could he.

Freddie took Wendy's hand in his, interlacing their fingers, and gave her a big smile. "I'll walk you to class."

OoOoOoOoOo

Carly watched Freddie walk away hand-in-hand with Wendy, completely dumbfounded.

"What is wrong with them?" she cried, looking over at Brad. "Why are they being so stubborn?"

"Because they're Sam and Freddie," Brad replied. "I haven't even known them that long, but it's really obvious when you first meet them, they're stubborn as hell."

"Yeah," Carly said wistfully, leaning against her locker. "They're a lot more alike than they know. But...god, they're so good together...you know, when they're not trying to kill each other. Brad!" she cried, grabbing his arm, and Brad swore he felt bolts of electricity shooting up, straight to his heart. "We have to get them back together!"

Brad quickly cleared his head, focusing on Carly's most recent statement.

"We?" he asked, backing away. "No...no. I don't think so. I'm not getting involved with this, Carly."

"But..."

"But it's just gonna blow up in our face!" he replied. "Sam will kill both of us, and I'm too young and too pretty to die!"

"Come on, pleeeeeease?" Carly whined, grabbing onto his arm again. "Please Brad please? I can't do this all by myself!"

Brad could feel his resolve weakening, the way Carly looked at him with those big puppy dog eyes, but he tried to hold fast, and shook his head wearily.

"You shouldn't be doing it at all, Carly. They'll figure it out! If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be!"

"What?" she cried. "How can you say that? Where would be if Roosevelt had told England that during World War II?"

"Carly!" Brad exclaimed. "We're dealing with a high school romance, not a war!"

"High school romance IS war, Brad! It's painful and unyielding, and if I don't step in now, the death toll is going to be catastrophic. We're talking about Sam and Freddie! I've seen them get into some pretty bad fights, but nothing like this."

"Okay, number one, I think you're being a little dramatic," Brad stated with a roll of his eyes. "Two, you sound a little jaded about the whole high school love thing."

"Just a little," she grumbled. "It happens when you get lied to, cheated on, and dumped for being stupid."

"Uh..." Brad trailed off, not sure what to say. That was unfortunate. Carly obviously hadn't had it easy when it came to love, and Brad knew she deserved a lot better.

Maybe someone like him?

He couldn't think about it for too long though, because Carly grabbed his arm again, tighter this time, and shook it.

"Please help me," she said weakly. "If only to save the show. You're cleared of Mono, right? You're back in as our intern? Help me keep the peace?"

Brad sighed, biting his lip. Trying to get Sam and Freddie back together after they'd nearly killed each other minutes before? He was sure he was going to regret this, but...

"Okay," he grumbled with a sigh. "I'll help."

"Yay!" Carly cried, jumping up and down and clapping her hands together. Brad couldn't help but smile, she was adorable when she was that happy. He wanted to make her happy all the time, just to see her do that. The next thing she did, however, nearly brought him to his knees. Carly grabbed his shoulders and then planted a quick peck on his cheek. It only lasted a half second, but Brad was ecstatic. A kiss on the cheek was better than no kiss at all!

"Okay, so after school then, we'll try to hatch a plan," Carly stated, grabbing her bookbag. "Because obviously Freddie and Sam will have their hands full with their stupid dates."

"Hey, I thought you were friends with Wendy," Brad pointed out, and Carly shrugged.

"I am. This is for her too. She'll get caught in the cross-fires, and if things end up getting too serious between her and Freddie, Sam will kill her," Carly responded. "I gotta go, see you after class!"

Brad gave her a little wave as she walked away, leaning against the lockers and sighing. Great, he'd allowed his little crush on Carly to pull him into this plan to get Freddie and Sam back together. And now he had to go through with it. He was doing it for Carly, but Sam and Freddie were his friends too, and he didn't want them to kill each other.

If his crush on Carly didn't kill him first.

OoOoOoOoO

Sam glared across the cafeteria at Freddie, shaking her head and looking down at her food, poking at the congealed concoction the lunch ladies had doled out onto her tray.

_How in god's name can they call THIS chili? This isn't chili! This is what chili eats!_

But she still couldn't look away, continuing to stir it with her plastic spoon. If she stopped, she'd look up, and her eyes would unavoidably drift back over to Freddie.

He was really enjoying rubbing this in her face, sitting with Wendy and a few other people, acting like Sam didn't even exist. Freddie seemed to be hanging on Wendy's every word, laughing at her jokes.

_Stupid bitch._

Sam was a little surprised when that went through her head. She and Wendy had been friends for a long time, but that had all changed. Now Wendy was with Freddie, the guy she loved...and hated. At the same time. She couldn't decide which emotion was more intense. But either way, whether she loved or hated him, he was her ex-boyfriend, and there was a girl code. Friends don't date their friends' ex-boyfriends! Wendy had smashed right through that, and now Sam wanted to smash right through her face!

The worst part of all? Freddie really seemed to like Wendy! Sam supposed that Wendy wasn't hideous, she was quite pretty, and sweet, and everybody liked her. She was...normal. The one thing Sam wasn't, the one thing Sam could never be. The one thing that drove her and Freddie apart.

But still, Sam was pissed. Freddie had hurt HER, and he was acting angry with her! He had no right to be mad at her! He'd insulted her, insinuated that she was a slut, and a stupid one at that. How dare he? Sam kicked at the table leg angrily as her fury began to grow. She wanted to stop thinking about the argument, but she couldn't.

Ugh, where was Carly? Sam looked around the cafeteria, her eyes darting around impatiently. She was taking forever to get here! As Sam looked around, her eyes landed on Freddie again, who, as luck would have it, chose that exact moment to raise his eyes, locking onto hers. Sam scowled at him, and Freddie scowled back, and then suddenly put an arm around Wendy. Sam swore under her breath, looking down.

_Like he's trying to make me jealous. Rub it in my face, that he doesn't want me, he wants her. _

Well, he could have her! Sam was done with Freddie Benson. Except that she wasn't. She was so angry that she wasn't ready to let go. She wanted to torment him, worse than ever before. And not the simple picking and poking "I like you so I'm going to hit you then run away" tormenting she did before. No. Freddie had really screwed himself. He'd hurt her. Insulted her. And now he was going to pay.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as the poet said, and Sam had been scorned. Badly. Freddie had no idea how badly he'd screwed up, but he would, and very soon.

_I'm going to make you wish you were dead, Benson_, Sam thought as she narrowed her eyes.

OoOoOoOo

Freddie could feel Sam staring him down, like she had laser beams for eyes. He'd felt it since the moment he sat down next to Wendy.

Sam was mad, but he was madder. He was so angry he thought he might snap. All he could think about was that stupid jock putting his hands on her, and Sam encouraging it, right in front of Freddie. TRYING to hurt him.

So he'd tried to hurt her back, in the hallway. But he'd only succeeded in pissing her off. He supposed that was pretty close, but it wasn't close enough. Sam had really hit him where it hurt, and not in a literal sense. That would have been better. Now he had an eternal loop going on his head, a montage of Sam and Anthony together. He wanted to give himself a lobotomy.

But that would just be too easy. He knew Sam, and he knew she was doing it on purpose. _Well, two could play that game_, he thought. He was really going to ramp things up now!

They made eye contact finally, almost accidentally on Freddie's part, and Sam gave him the dirtiest look he'd ever seen. So he gave her one right back, and then, just to add insult to injury, he put an arm around Wendy, who just gave him a sweet smile.

Freddie wasn't sure if he was making Sam jealous, but it was worth a shot. He frowned suddenly as another thought crossed his mind.

_Am I just using Wendy? That's a little messed up on my part. _

He thought about the matter critically, silent as he sat at the lunch table next to her, while she chatted animatedly with her friends.

_No. I'm not using her. I want to move on. And I can move on with her. If I try hard enough, maybe I can fall in love with her. _

Satisfied with that rationalization, he turned to Wendy, putting his arm around her again.

"I'm gonna get a soda," he said in her ear softly. "You want one?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Diet?"

"Sure," he responded, giving her a smile, then stood up.

_Sam wouldn't be caught dead drinking diet soda_, he thought, and then just as quickly, chased that thought away. The cafeteria was beginning to get really filled up, and Freddie had to dart this way and that to get past people as they tried to snag seats in the busy lunch room. He groaned to himself as he realized he was going to have to walk right past Sam's table. Oh, god. If he just walked by as quickly as possible, maybe she wouldn't notice, and he wouldn't look at her. It hurt to look at her. He was tired of hurting.

Taking a deep, determined breath, he tried to get past her as quickly as possible, but it just wasn't meant to be. Just like that, something caught his foot, and he found himself face down on the floor.

Damn, that hurt, Freddie thought, gasping for breath, his face reddening at the sound of laughter all around him. He pushed himself up on his knees, turning around to find Sam sitting there with her foot stuck out.

"Oops," she said with a evil grin. "My bad."

Overcome with rage, Freddie scrambled to his feet, glaring at her.

"You are such a BITCH, Sam!" he yelled, immediately regretting the words as soon as they'd left his mouth.

_Oh god, why did you just say that to her? _

It was because he was angry. That was all. That, and he hated her. It had been building up over the last twenty four hours, and now, it was at full-blast.

Sam's jaw dropped at what Freddie had just blurted out, then her jaw set itself in a firm line. She bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't cry, the hurt, vulnerable part deep inside of Sam severely wounded.

And then, the hurt was gone, replaced by anger. She wanted to hit him. Hard. In the face. Knock his teeth right down his throat. But she couldn't do that. If she did, she'd get suspended, and she wasn't so sure she could touch him right now, even as angry as she was, and not have it shake her to the very core.

So she did the next best thing. She stood up, grabbed her disgusting bowl of chili, and unceremoniously splashed it in Freddie's face.

Thankfully, it had been tepid, lukewarm at best, like all the food in the cafeteria. But Freddie was beyond angry now. It stung his eyes, and also stung at his pride. He wiped his face, glaring at her.

"I cannot believe you just did that to me."

"Chili's a good color on you, Benson," Sam said with a smug little smirk, crossing her arms over her chest.

Freddie shook his head, a plastic smile on his face. "You know, I just realized, I forgot to tell you something."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Your hair looks really nice today," he stated, and a for a moment, a vunerable, hopeful expression crossed Sam's face, and then it was quickly gone, replaced by a challenging look. Freddie smirked at her, before turning around and grabbing another student's bowl of chili off his plate. "But it needs a finishing touch."

With that, he held the bowl over her head and simply dumped it onto her perfectly straight, glossy blonde hair.

Sam let out a gasp, her hands going into her hair and then looking at them, chili all over her palms and fingers. She looked up at Freddie, sucking in a deep breath, trying to maintain an element of control.

"Well then, so do you," she replied, grabbing her slice of pie and throwing it at him. Freddie wiped his face and tried to fling it back at her, but she ducked, and it hit Noseby Moseby by mistake, who glared at Freddie, standing up.

"Oh, shit," Freddie grunted, but it was too late.

Within seconds, a full-fledged food fight had broken out in the cafeteria, food being flung everywhere, the sounds of shrieking and laughing echoing throughout the expansive room. Everyone was having fun. It was like a game.

But not to Sam and Freddie. No, it wasn't a game. It was war, and they were throwing everything they could find at each other, food, utensils, drinks. Sam even tried to wing an unopened can of soda at Freddie's head, though thankfully she missed.

"I hate you!" she yelled, throwing more stuff at him. "I can't believe we ever went out!"

"I hate you even more! Having anything to do with you was the biggest mistake of my life!"

"Feeling's mutual, asshole!"

Freddie growled, grabbing a handful of lima beans to throw at her, but she ducked, and then suddenly a series of gasps went through the cafeteria, everyone immediately quieting down.

Sam and Freddie looked perplexed by the sudden halt in chaos, and Freddie glared at Sam, then seemed to look straight past her, letting out a groan and covering his face.

"What?"

"PUCKETT! BENSON!"

"Oh god," Sam groaned. She turned around, and sure enough, there was Ms. Briggs, picking lima beans out of her hair. She gave Sam a death glare, grabbing her by the elbow and dragging her across the cafeteria to where Freddie was standing, grabbing him by the ear.

"Ow ow ow!" he yelled, helplessly being taken along for the ride. "Let go! Ow!"

"You two are dead!" Ms. Briggs hissed.

_Oh god,_ Sam groaned. _I'm gonna get suspended. Three suspensions in a semester, automatic expulsion. I am dead._

She glared over at Freddie, shaking her head as they were both dragged to the principal's office.

_I'm gonna kill Benson._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_The things I do for extra credit_, Carly groaned to herself as she walked down the hallway, heading for the cafeteria. She'd stayed after class to talk to Mr. Howard about bombing her latest geometry test, and it hadn't gone that well. She'd begged and pleaded, but Mr. Howard had held firm, until Carly had finally burst into tears, and Mr. Howard had finally conceded, giving her a take-home exam to bump her grade up a little.

Now she had to go find Sam, figure out where her head was at. She'd been really upset after the confrontation with Freddie in the hallway, and Carly needed to find her and make her feel better. She wasn't going to give up on this whole thing, getting Sam and Freddie back together.

Before, Sam and Freddie as a couple had caused major inconveniences as far as iCarly was concerned, but now that they were broken up, it was sure to send the webshow down in flames. If they couldn't stop hating each other, it would never work. Carly was determined to not let that happen.

She approached the double doors of the cafeteria, preparing to go in, and then Gibby suddenly burst through them, covered in food and looking pathetic.

"What happened to you?" Carly cried, giving him a sympathetic look. "Did the jocks make you go bobbing for meatballs again?"

"No," Gibby replied with a shake of his head. "Man, Carly, you missed one hell of a food fight."

"A food fight?" Carly asked, wrinkling her nose. _Well that's immature._ She rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Who started it this time? Rip-Off Rodney?"

"Uh, not quite," Gibby replied. "It was Sam and Freddie."

"Oh god," Carly groaned. This was getting ridiculous!

"Yeah, and it was a Food. Fight."

"What started it?"

"Sam tripped Freddie, and then Freddie called her a bitch."

"Oh my god!" Carly exclaimed. "That's not like him at all!" The break-up was beginning to change both of her best friends for the worst...they weren't even respectful anymore! This wasn't normal Freddie and Sam bantering! This was mean and hateful and...evil.

"Yeah, I know! Some mutual break up, huh? So then Sam dumped chili on his head, and then chaos ensued. It was crazy!"

"So...so where are they now?"

"Principal's office," Gibby replied with a shrug.

"Oh, no!" Carly cried. "Gibby! Sam can't be in the principal's office! If she gets suspended again, they'll expel her!"

"Well that's unfortunate," Gibby muttered. "But...maybe it's the only way there'll be any peace."

"What?" Carly asked, confused, and Gibby shrugged.

"Those two are gonna end up tearing Ridgeway apart if this thing gets any worse."

"Well, it's not going to get any worse," Carly replied with a determined expression on her face. "Because they're getting back together."

"How do you figure, Carly? Those two are acting like they want to kill each other!"

"Because I'm gonna get them back together, if it kills ME!" Carly cried. "I want them to be happy! They're my best friends! And they made each other happy when they were together! They're meant to be!"

"You can't force them to be together, Carly," Gibby replied softly, his hand on her shoulder. "Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you should worry about your own love life?"

Carly glared at Gibby, pushing his hand off her shoulder. "I don't know if you've noticed, Gibby, but I don't have a love life! At all. I can't find a decent guy! I'm completely crippled in the romance department!"

"Maybe you're just not looking hard enough!" Gibby yelled, and Carly gave him a strange, perplexed look.

"But what about Tasha?"

"What? Me? No!" Gibby replied. "Don't take that the wrong way, you're gorgeous. But I wasn't talking about me."

"Then who were you talking about?"

Gibby looked like he was going to give her a straight answer, but he suddenly stopped, shaking his head. "Just...never mind. I gotta go to the locker room, clean all this stuff off me. I'll see you later. Let me know if Sam gets expelled or not."

"But, Gibby..."

"Bye!"

Carly watched him walk away, still confused.

_What was that about? Not looking hard enough? He wasn't talking about him? Then who was he talking about?_

He was probably just being typical Gibby. Unique at best, and weird at worst. Sometimes the things he said just didn't make sense. With a shrug, she turned, walking into the cafeteria, hoping there was still some food left from the epic food battle her two best friends had started.

**OoOoOoOo**

Sam continued to pick chili out of her hair as she sat in Principal Franklin's office, stopping now and then to scowl at Freddie, who sat next to her. Freddie scowled right back, and she picked a bean out of her hair and unceremoniously flicked him in the eye with it. He let out an irritated grunt, standing up and grabbing his chair, moving it further away from her, before plopping back down on it and staring straight ahead.

_Who the hell do you think you are, Puckett?_ Freddie thought angrily. _First you rub your new boyfriend in my face, then you TRIP me and then dump chili on my head! This is all your fault!_

"This is all your fault!" he shouted, verbalizing his thoughts.

Sam glared at him, shaking her head. "It's your fault, you dishrag!"

"You tripped me and dumped chili on my head, how is it MY fault?" he shot back.

"You were born!"

"Both of you be quiet!" Principal Franklin exclaimed from behind his desk. "I can't believe the two of you!"

"Look at my sweater!" Ms. Briggs spoke up. "Do you have any idea how much mohair costs?"

"I dunno, but it looks like you fished it out of a Goodwill bin," Sam replied, and Ms. Briggs glared at her angrily.

"Very smooth, Puckett," Freddie grunted, and Sam leered at him.

"I hate your face."

"I hate your...voice."

"I hate your life!"

"Really? Me too!" Freddie shouted.

"Enough, both of you!" Principal Franklin said. "Whatever's going on with you two needs to stop right now! What happened, I thought you two were friends!"

"And things change," Sam said flatly.

"Sam," Principal Franklin said, looking at her. "You do realize, we have a three strike rule in terms of suspension here at Ridgeway."

Sam sighed, looking down at the ground. "I know."

_It's all over for me now_, Sam thought. _It's not like I was ever going to college, but I'll never be able to get a job without a high school diploma! I'm screwed!_

Freddie was shocked as he looked back and forth between Principal Franklin and Sam's sudden change in demeanor. It was quiet, defeated almost. He sat there for a moment, trying to think. Three strike rule? He tried to remember how many times Sam had been suspended this semester.

_The live pig in the hallway at the beginning of the semester,_ he thought. _That's one._

_Trying to flush Rona Burger's handbag down the toilet. That's two._

What happened today in the cafeteria would be three, and that meant...expulsion. Freddie sighed. As much as he hated Sam right now, he didn't want her to get expelled. Yes, he hated her, despised her even, but he didn't want her entire future ruined just because of him. That was just too much, and the karma would be unstoppable.

_I'm going to regret this_, Freddie thought grimly, but before he could open his mouth to protest, Principal Franklin began to speak again.

"Sam, you haven't done anything violent all semester, and that's an obvious indication that you've come a long way," he commented, and Sam shrugged.

"Lot of good it's gonna do me now," she said quietly.

Oh great, first I'm hurt, then I'm angry, now I'm guilty, Freddie thought angrily. I hate you, Sam. I hate you for making me feel all these things!

"So..." Principal Franklin continued. "In light of that, I'm not going to suspend you."

"You're not?" Sam asked, her head snapping up and sounding shocked.

"No, I'm not."

"What about a-hole over here?" Sam asked, glaring at Freddie, and he simply scowled at her.

"Sam, don't push me," Principal Franklin said. "I'm not going to suspend either one of you. But you will be disciplined."

"Detention? Forever?" Sam asked, and Principal Franklin shook his head. "Then what? What epic punishment is gonna be rained down on me?"

"Please say it's the rack," Freddie muttered, and Sam growled at him.

"Like I'd let you anywhere near my rack!"

"That's not what I meant, Puckett! And anyway, what makes you think I want anything to do with your rack?"

"A lot!" Sam shot back. "You stared at it for two years!"

"Yeah, trying to figure out what was wrong with it!"

Sam let out a deep, slow breath, trying to control her anger. "You did not just say to me," she said lowly, and he shrugged.

"Oh I did. And if I had a time machine, I'd jump in and go back three seconds, so you could hear it again!" Freddie shot back.

"Enough!" Principal Franklin shouted. "My word, what's gotten into you two?"

"Just...some people aren't what they seem, that's all," Sam replied.

"Yeah, you proved that," Freddie responded.

"Shut up!" Ms. Briggs said shrilly. "Enough of your arguing!"

"Ms. Briggs," Principal Franklin said, giving her a Look, and she sighed, leaning against the desk and crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what's the punishment if it's not detention?" Sam asked, trying to focus on the topic of conversation and not on Freddie. _God, even when he's angry, he's gorgeous. I hate you, Benson._

"Instead of detention, we thought we'd put you to good use," Ms. Briggs quipped, and Freddie gave her a Look.

"Forced child labor is illegal in all fifty states."

"You're such a know-it-all," Sam muttered.

"And you're such a know-absolutely-nothing!"

"Quiet!" Principal Franklin shouted. "One more word and I'll rethink the suspension, AND the expulsion!"

Sam and Freddie finally gave up, each of them crossing their arms over their chest, unable and unwilling to look at one another. After a few moments of silence, Principal Franklin was satisfied the arguing would not continue, and went on about discussing disciplinary actions.

"Now, as you're aware, the school play is coming up."

"School play?" Sam asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "No way."

"No choice!" Ms. Briggs shouted. "And so I don't have to go through the hassle of auditioning my two leads, it'll be you two!"

"WHAT? WHY?" They both shouted, and then gave each other identical death glares.

_Oh my god, I hate him,_ Sam thought.

_Oh my god, I hate her._ That was Freddie.

"You two obviously have experience in entertainment, it'd be a good fit. And you'll be forced to get along," Principal Franklin stated. "After all, some of the scenes can be quite...emotional."

Sam just groaned, her face in her hands, and Freddie sighed, exhausted from the whole ordeal already.

"Dare I ask what play it is?" Freddie said, and Ms. Briggs smirked at him.

"Romeo & Juliet."

"Oh god, no!" Sam shouted.

"Yes, Sam! And you'll be our Juliet!"

"If you make me do this, I will kill myself! I swear to god!"

"Yeah, that's already in the play, way to rebel," Freddie said sarcastically.

"I WILL GO GET MY BUTTER SOCK!" Sam hollered. "Don't push me, Benson!"

Freddie looked at Principal Franklin pointedly. "Seriously?" he asked. "You want THAT playing the part of Juliet? She's not exactly a lady."

"And you're not exactly a man," Sam shot back.

Principal Franklin shook his head. "I've seen the show, you both know how to be professional in front of an audience. You'll have to get over your differences and work together."

"And what makes you think I won't throw the scene on opening night?" Sam responded, and it was Ms. Briggs turn to speak up.

"If you do, you'll both be suspended, and you know what that means, Puckett. You'll be expelled."

"Oh god," Sam groaned. "Kill me, kill me now."

Sam shot a look over at Freddie, and as he returned it, she quickly looked away. She couldn't even look at him. The thought of doing a play like Romeo & Juliet with the guy she both loved and hated was inconceivable. He'd hurt her, he'd broken her heart. And now they'd have to act like they were in love, on stage. They'd have to kiss. Oh god. She'd have to kiss him. How was she supposed to handle that?

Expulsion was beginning to sound pretty good.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"This is the worst thing that ever could have possibly happened," Sam groaned as she laid on Carly's ice cream sandwich futon, her head hanging over the side miserably.

"It is not," Carly replied with a shake of her head, giving her a smile. Inside, Carly was desperately trying not to fangirl all over the place. Sam as Juliet, Freddie as Romeo? It was too perfect! They'd have to say sweet, romantic words to each other, hold each other close, kiss!

_After this, they'll be sure to get back together, I just know it._

"It is, Shay!" Sam moaned. "Name something worse!"

"Uh, imperialism, the Berlin wall, sugar-free pudding..."

"Okay, fine, I'll give you sugar-free pudding," Sam grumbled. "But this is pretty close!"

"Oh come on. You've done plenty of acting before...and plenty of kissing Freddie before too. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Carly!" Sam whined, kicking her legs back and forth. "Don't even bring that up! I don't want to think about it! The thought that I ever kissed that stupid nub once absolutely disgusts me!"

_Okay, that's a total lie_, Sam thought. There was nothing disgusting about kissing Freddie, which made it even more unbearable.

"So what happened?" Carly asked, leaning toward her. "Like...two days ago, you were still in love with him, and now you hate him? Why?"

"Because he..." She trailed off, shaking her head. _Because he doesn't love me, and he makes me feel completely insignificant._ "Because I just do!"

"That's not good enough, Sam. You still care about Freddie. Admit it."

"No," Sam grunted, sitting up. "I care about Anthony."

"You don't even know Anthony!"

"Well, I'll get to know him better!" Sam shot back. "Starting tonight."

"Sam, don't get involved with Anthony Collins just because you're trying to get back at Freddie."

"I am not getting involved with him to get back at Freddie!" Sam responded. "What's there to get back at? Like I said before, he's over me. Way over me."

Carly shook her head, giving Sam a sympathetic look. "I don't think that's true."

"He called me a slut!"

"He didn't CALL YOU a slut, he just...hinted at it. And he was upset."

"Yeah, he looked real upset when he was getting all cozy with Wendy in the cafeteria today," Sam grumbled.

"I knew it! You're jealous!" Carly replied, and Sam glared at her.

"I am not jealous of that ginger."

"SAM!" Carly yelled. "You're not supposed to say that, it's like...a racial slur."

"They're not a race, Carly."

"Still. You wouldn't like it if someone called you a bimbo just because of your hair color," Carly replied. "It's not Wendy's fault that they're dating."

"She broke the girl code by going out with MY boyfriend!" Sam stated, and a horrified look crossed her face. "Ex-boyfriend. I mean ex-boyfriend," she stammered, and Carly just laughed.

"Nope, too late, it's out there. You still love him."

"I hate him."

"You've always hated him," Carly responded. "And it was a cover-up for your undying Freddie love."

"Carly!" Sam said. "Don't. I can't deal with this. It's bad enough I have to look at him, and watch him date some other girl, and be in a play with him. He's gonna be reciting all these lines about love to me, and none of it's gonna be true. It's gonna be an act. Like before."

"It wasn't an act before, Sam," Carly replied. "He did really love you. He still does."

"No." Sam shook her head fervently. "I can't pretend like that's true. It'll just give me false hope. I just have to move on, with Anthony. I'll get over Freddie. I know I will. Just like he got over me."

"He's not over you!"

"Yes, he is!" Sam shot back, before standing up. "I gotta go. I have to get ready for my date."

"You're really going to go through with this," Carly groaned, falling back onto her sofa, and Sam nodded.

"Of course. Beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"I wish you'd stop saying that stuff about yourself."

"I wish I could stop feeling those things about myself," Sam said softly. "And I wish it wasn't true. But it is." She sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat. "Carly, do the play with me?"

"No way," Carly replied with a shake of her head.

"Carly, please!"

"No!" she responded. "I'm not doing a school play!"

"Carlyyyyyyyy!" Sam whined, her voice rising up an octave. "Please? I can't sit there and look at him and deal with all this without moral support! I need you! Come on, you're my best friend!"

Carly sighed, thinking it over for a second, before rolling her eyes and nodding. "Fine, I'll do the play with you."

"Yay!" Sam exclaimed, doing a little dance. "And then we can spoof it on iCarly later!"

"Yeah, yeah," Carly replied. "I guess...go get ready for your...date. As much as it pains me to see you go out with someone like Anthony."

"He's nice."

"He...I dunno. I'm just not getting a good feeling about him," Carly replied. "But whatever. It's your life."

"Yep, it is. Just wish it didn't suck so bad," Sam grunted. "Love ya, Carls. I'll call you later."

"Bye."

With that, Sam was gone, leaving Carly alone in her room, and she walked over to her bed, flopping down. She really didn't want to do the school play, but it would give her more opportunity to work on Operation Reunite Seddie. But the idea of having to deal with endless recitations of one of the most epic love stories of all time, while she couldn't even get a date?

Torturous.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"So what'd you think?" Freddie asked Wendy as they walked out of the movie theater, taking her hand in his.

"It was really good!" she replied. "What'd you think?"

"It was...good," he said halfheartedly. Truthfully, he'd hated it. It was a stupid chick flick, the kind of movie he hated.

_The kind of movie Sam hated._

If Freddie had been there with Sam instead of Wendy, they would have made fun of it the entire time, or just kissed during the whole thing. Ugh, as angry as he was, he missed kissing Sam. He missed goofing around with Sam. He missed Sam, period.

_This sucks._

"What are you thinking about?" Wendy asked softly as they walked down the sidewalk, and Freddie sighed, trying to push thoughts of Sam out of his head.

"Just...stuff. The idea of having to do that stupid play, all because of a food fight? Not fair."

"Well, I can't wait to see you in it, but...I know what you mean. I know it's going to be hard working with Sam. She's so mean to you."

_Because I was mean to her too,_ he thought grimly. He hated himself for what he said to her, never mind what he did to her. All he'd been able to think about all day was Sam, and the idea of doing Romeo & Juliet, together? It was terrifying to him. He didn't even know if he'd be able to get through the first rehearsal, and if his mother wouldn't absolutely kill him, he almost would have been willing to take the suspension.

He dreamed about holding Sam, kissing her. Telling her he loved her. But not like this. Not reciting lines by some dead playwright, which would render the words and actions meaningless. How could he kiss a girl like Sam and have it not mean anything?

"Wow, you are really gone tonight," Wendy stated, stopping in her tracks and turning towards him, her arms going around his neck.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Just everything that happened today, it..."

"Shh," Wendy replied, her hand going over his mouth. She pulled away, giving him a smile, and Freddie took a deep breath.

_You gotta do this. It's the only way you're gonna get over Sam. Besides, kissing Wendy? It won't be such a bad thing. She's pretty. _

"Let me make you feel better," Wendy said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.

It was a soft, gentle kiss, a very chaste one, and Freddie had to admit, it felt good. His eyes closed as he continued to kiss her. It'd been too long since he'd been kissed.

That night in the elevator. It had been the most incredibly intense night of his life, Sam shoving him against the wall and kissing him passionately, like she wanted to eat him alive. Tongues tangled, bodies pressed against each other, hips grinding together. They'd almost lost control, and Sam had been willing to go all the way, but Freddie had slowed it down. Not like this, he'd said. Not in an elevator, and not when they were about to break up. It wasn't right.

He knew it had bothered her. She'd basically threw herself at him, and he'd gently rebuffed her.

_That's why she got so upset when I hinted at her being a slut,_ he thought. _I'm such a dick._

But, god, to be kissed again. It felt amazing, like he'd been aching for it. Her lips were so soft, she tasted slightly sweet. He wanted to keep kissing her, over and over.

He loved her. He always had. He'd never stop loving her.

He frowned suddenly, his eyes opening. The kiss was over, and now he realized what had just happened.

He'd been kissing Wendy. Not Sam.

Freddie had started out thinking about Wendy, but then began thinking about Sam again. And somehow, he began to imagine he was kissing Sam. But he wasn't.

_Oh god, this can't be good._

"Wow," Wendy said with a smile. "That was...intense. You're a really good kisser."

"Uh, thanks," Freddie said nervously. Okay, she didn't figure it out. That's good. But what do I do? I can't pretend I'm kissing Sam! Am I completely nuts?

"Sam didn't know what she had," Wendy teased, poking him, and Freddie nodded.

_Well, that part's true. She didn't. But Wendy obviously does._

What was better, to love someone so intensely it drove you mad, while they didn't love you at all, or to be with someone who loved you, who you didn't really love? Freddie wasn't sure. He knew that he hadn't always loved Sam, at least not to the point he was aware of. Love doesn't just instantly appear. It has to grow.

_So you can still get over her!_ Freddie thought. _You can love Wendy. If you try hard enough, you can love her._

"I...it's getting late," Freddie said softly, taking her hand again. "I need to get you home."

"You okay?" she asked, and Freddie gave her a smile, a forced one, before putting his arm around her and lightly kissing the side of her head.

"I'm fine."

_Well, not yet. But I will be._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_I so do not want to be here,_ Sam growled to herself, completely irritated. She couldn't believe she was being forced to give up precious sleeping time on a Saturday to deal with rehearsals for the stupid play.

The last two weeks had been a blur, a sharp, painful whirlwind of Freddie and Wendy officially morphing into a couple, and the news traveling all over school. They even had a nickname...Frendy. Ugh, it disgusted Sam. She and Anthony didn't have a nickname.

Of course, while Wendy and Freddie had been doing their thing, Sam and Anthony had been doing theirs. Sam tried to force herself into liking Anthony. He paid attention to her, took her out on nice dates, had bought her a few things. But a few things threw her off about him. For one thing, he was pretty adamant about her always looking her best. She'd woken up late one morning, too late to fix her hair or do her makeup, and Anthony had been standoffish, practically avoiding her in public, before taking her aside after school and sharply reprimanding her for her appearance.

"My girlfriend HAS to look good," he reminded her curtly. "I can't be seen with you if you insist on looking like that."

That had stung. She knew she hadn't been good enough for Freddie, but he seemed to like the way she looked just fine, makeup or no makeup. Anthony was a different story. He wanted her dressed to the nines, hair perfectly straight. He hated it when she wore her hair curly. He wanted to be a hot couple, he'd told her.

There were other things about Anthony that bothered her too, like the fact that he kept pushing her to go farther than she was ready to go. They'd only been going out for two weeks, but he'd already tried unbuttoning her blouse, sticking his hands down her jeans when they were alone together. Sam didn't like it. She wasn't ready for it, and she certainly wasn't ready for it with him.

But she kept dating him, mostly to prove to herself that somebody wanted her, and to avoid looking stupid in front of Freddie.

As she strode into rehearsal, walking into the auditorium with coffees in hand, her eyes quickly focused on Freddie, then just as suddenly narrowed into angry little slits.

_God, did they have to be superglued to each other all the time? They're disgusting!_

Freddie was sitting in one of the auditorium seats, reading over the script. He held it in one hand, his other arm tossed casually around Wendy, her head laid on his shoulder.

_Oh my god. She is turning his pages for him,_ Sam noticed with a disgusted look on her face. _Look at that! She worships the ground he walks on! Why? He's such a loser!_

Of course, he wasn't a loser, and Sam knew that. He wasn't a loser at all, it was just easier to tell herself that. She continued to look around, finally finding Carly, and bounded over to her.

"Hey," Sam said, plopping down next to her. Sam was so relieved that Carly had agreed to do the play with her, and she'd gotten a pretty decent role, as Lady Capulet. She'd be playing Sam's mother, which both of them found incredibly entertaining. Half the time Carly chirped at Sam like a mother-figure anyway, always trying to help her figure out what to do.

"Hey," Carly replied, grinning as Sam handed her one of the coffees. "What is this?"

"Caramel Macchiato. Your fave."

"Aw," Carly said with a grin, poking her. "Who needs a boyfriend when I have you?"

"No, you totally need a boyfriend," Sam responded.

"She's right," Gibby said, flopping down in the row in front of them and turning around to face them. "Morning ladies. Hey Sam, where's MY coffee?"

"Shoulda texted me," Sam said with a shrug. Sam hadn't at all been surprised when she found out Gibby was going to be in the play; he had a flair for the dramatic, and underneath all his weakness, he was a romantic at heart. Gibby had been pretty bummed when he found out the role of Romeo had already been taken, but he still managed to land a prime role as Benvolio, the cousin of Romeo.

Carly looked at Gibby and Sam, exasperated over their comments. "Yeah, I need a boyfriend, but I can't find one," she whined, kicking the seat in front of her. "It sucks!"

"Chill, Shay. Chug your caffeine," Sam grunted. "Besides, there's more to life than having a boyfriend."

"Says the girl who already has one," Carly said pointedly.

"Whoopty-doo," Sam said flatly, and Carly rolled her eyes.

"Sam, why don't you just break up with him?" Carly cried. "It's obvious that he doesn't make you happy!"

"I have my reasons," Sam mumbled as she glanced over at Freddie and Wendy.

Oh my god, they're kissing! Give me a break!

"She can't break up with him," Gibby stated. "They're a total power couple!"

Carly nodded, sighing a little. "I'll give you that. Your stock has definitely rose up in Ridgeway since you started dating Anthony."

"Like I care," Sam groaned.

"BOO!"

"AAAHHH!" Carly shrieked as somebody snuck up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. It startled Sam too, but she didn't jump or scream like Carly did. In typical Sam fashion, she turned around and whacked him squarely on the top of the head.

"Ow!"

"Brad, you asshole!" Sam exclaimed, smacking him in the chest. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Brad climbed over the seat next to Sam, plopping down in it. "Nothing."

"You're not here because of the opening, are you?" Gibby asked, and Brad shrugged.

"Hey, all my friends are here, I didn't wanna feel left out," Brad responded with a grin.

"You're trying out for the part of Mercutio, aren't you?" Carly asked, a slight smile on her face, and Brad nodded. The part had originally gone to Shane, which had agitated both Carly and Sam, as they both had past history with him that was a little unpleasant. However, the same Mono that had struck Brad down was still going strong, and Shane had been a sitting duck. Ms. Briggs had failed to cast an understudy, and now the play was left without a Mercutio, one of the key roles in the play.

"That a problem?"

"No," Carly replied with a shake of her head. "Just didn't think you were the theater type, that's all."

"You know, technically we're all theater types, us iCarlys," Gibby pointed out, and they all shrugged.

"You're right. So who is else auditioning? Anybody know?" Carly asked.

"Reuben's trying out," Gibby stated, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Oh god, it'll be the worst play in history," she said, before looking over at Brad. "Dude, you better get it!"

"Well, I'm gonna try!" he responded.

"I hope you get it," Carly commented, looking off in the direction where Freddie and Wendy sat. Sam followed her gaze and let out a sigh.

"They're sickening, aren't they?" she asked, referring to the way they were all cuddled up. Carly shrugged.

"I dunno. I just feel kinda bad, you know? I mean, you're my best friend, but Freddie's my friend too. And...when we're not shooting, the five of us can't hang out together. It's weird. Brad, isn't it weird? Don't you want everyone to just be friends?"

"Yeah..." he grumbled. "Just...friends."

Carly stood up, brushing her hair over her shoulders. "I should go say hi, I haven't spoken to him yet. I'll be right back."

"Try to light him on fire!" Sam yelled, before shooting a smirk over at Brad.

"What?"

"I know why you're here."

"Yeah, to try out for the part of Mercutio," Brad said defensively, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Liar. Sure you don't want to play the part of, oh...Lord Capulet?"

"Why would I want to be your dad?"

"Because then you'd be Carly's husband, that's why," Sam replied, and Brad glared at her.

"Sam..." he warned through gritted teeth, and she merely shrugged.

"What? Dude, what are you waiting for? Get in there, and get you some Carly!"

Over the past few weeks, it had become painfully obviously to anybody in their circle of friends, Gibby, Sam, and even Freddie, that Brad had a massive crush on Carly. The only person who seemed to be oblivious to it was Carly herself, and man, was she oblivious. She'd spend hours complaining about being perpetually single, inevitably run into Brad, and treat him like a buddy, all while he had stars in his eyes every time he looked at her. Sam didn't know why he didn't just bite the bullet and ask her out! Brad was a cute guy, and he seemed like the type Carly would go for, but both of them just seemed to miss it somehow.

"Sam!" Brad hissed, poking her, his eyes drifting over to where Carly sat, talking to Freddie and Wendy. "Will you shut up?"

"Dude, Carly's completely braindead when it comes to knowing when a guy likes her," Gibby pointed out. "Except when Freddie liked her, but he was obsessive about it."

Sam glared at him hatefully, and Gibby bit his lip, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, did I say Freddie? I meant...uh...uh...Spencer."

"Spencer?" Sam repeated, looking at Gibby like he was nuts. "Okay, maybe I should have brought you coffee, because you're being totally slow today." She rolled her eyes, before smacking Brad on the arm. "But...you need to ask Carly out!"

"I can't do that," he responded with a shake of his head.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because!" he replied. "She's...Carly. Look at her. Just...look at her!"

"And look at you!" Sam shot back. "I mean, okay, you're basically a Ken Doll to me, but that being said, you're not hideous, Brad. You could get Carly."

"Nah," he said. "I...I'm not the type to throw myself at girls."

"Yeah, because it seems they just throw themselves at you," Sam grumbled, and Brad rolled his eyes.

"Chicks do not throw themselves at me."

"Come on, Brianna? Kelsey? What about the secret admirer notes you've been getting on your car? Face it, you're a chick magnet!"

"I'm not a chick magnet," he responded, and Sam laughed. It was kind of cute. For all his goofiness, Brad could be quite shy when it came to putting himself out there. He was a lot like her in that regard. Of course, as she'd found out, putting herself out there was quite painful.

"You guys can stop pining over your co-stars at any moment," Gibby stated, noting the way Brad and Sam were both staring off in the same direction, Sam at Freddie and Brad at Carly.

"GIBBY!" they both shouted, and Gibby visibly shrunk.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Hey, Brad, wanna run lines before you have to read for Ms. Briggs?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," he said, grabbing Sam's script out of her hands. She glared at him, but didn't say anything, continuing to stare at Freddie.

He had his arm around Wendy still, and Wendy was leaned against him as Freddie talked to Carly. Sam had become oddly observant the last two weeks, at least when it came to Freddie. Whenever another girl got near, Wendy would become super-clingy, like she was threatened or something, and right now, she definitely seemed threatened by Carly.

Freddie, however, was completely relaxed, talking with Carly as he let one hand casually run up and down Wendy's arm.

_I want to break his hand._

She finally willed herself to look away, chugging at her coffee. She hated the fact that Wendy was here, but as soon as she'd had the opportunity, she'd signed up for the play too, just so she could be close to Freddie. Like they didn't spend enough time together. She'd only gotten a small part as a servant, and for some reason that made Sam happy. Of course Wendy had been upset.

"Now Wendy," Ms. Briggs had told her. "There are no small parts, only small actors."

_And small brains_, Sam had thought. Wendy would have to be a total idiot to fall for that nub Freddie.

_But then again,_ Sam thought mournfully, _so was I._

**OoOoOoOoOo**

"I really hope Brad gets the part of Mercutio," Carly commented to Freddie. "He'd be good, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Freddie said with a nod, squirming a little in his seat when he felt Wendy squeeze him a little harder. Sometimes, she held him so tightly he thought he would break. He tried to focus on his conversation with Carly, and not the claustrophobic feeling he was getting from his girlfriend.

He should be used to it by now anyway.

They'd been dating for two weeks, officially on the "hot couple radar" at Ridgeway, but Freddie still felt like it was a bit forced. He'd been waiting for his feelings for Wendy to show up, but they hadn't come yet. That was odd to him.

He definitely LIKED Wendy, but he didn't love Wendy. She was sweet, kind, and unfailingly generous, but it was lacking the spark that Freddie had come to love with his last relationship.

He'd been frantically trying to avoid even saying Sam's name, unless it was to yell at her for screwing up in the middle of a scene. He just didn't want to think about her, because it would make it even harder to continue his relationship with Wendy. Sweet, adorable Wendy. Almost too sweet, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

Freddie made a joke about Gibby looking good in tights and Carly laughed, smacking him on the arm. Freddie sucked in a sharp gasp of air as he felt Wendy's hold on him become even tighter. He looked down at her, and she stared back at him with her big green eyes, full of adoration.

That was another thing that bothered him. Wendy acted like she'd put him on a pedestal, and that wasn't what Freddie was after. He didn't want to be put on a pedestal, in his mind they were too easy to fall off. No, he wanted a partner, an equal, to go through life with, not a servant to bow to his every whim. He wanted a witty brain to banter back and forth with, not a parrot to endlessly repeat everything he said. And Freddie needed a spark, a fire, not a shrinking violet.

But still, he was convinced it was a bad idea to give up now, and he didn't want to break up with Wendy while Sam was all hot and heavy with her boyfriend. Freddie didn't see them together much, but when he did, they were usually pawing each other, Anthony with his arms around Sam, hands in her back pockets and kissing her frantically, while Sam just stood there and took it. It disgusted Freddie, watching Sam that way. She was making a fool of herself, turning into a Barbie doll for that stupid jock.

And yet, he still loved her. As much as it pained him, he still loved her. He couldn't stop thinking about her, not even with his sweet girlfriend cuddled up next to him.

At that moment, as if Wendy could tell Freddie was thinking about another girl, she suddenly straightened up, grabbing his face and planting a big kiss on his lips. It caught Freddie by surprise, and he reared back a little bit.

It wasn't lost on Carly, how awkward the kiss was, at least for Freddie. Like he refused to give himself up to it, tensing up and gripping the arm of the auditorium chair. Wendy looked like she was in heaven, but Freddie looked like he was somewhere else. Not hell, maybe purgatory. She rolled her eyes.

Stupid Freddie, she thought. You know you still love Sam.

At that moment, Ms. Briggs burst through the door, heading down the aisle and looking sour as usual. The loud banging sound startled Freddie and Wendy right out of their kiss, turning in their seats to look at her.

"Late again, Briggs!" Sam chirped. "Is that the proper way to show respect for the theater?"

_Good lord,_ _Sam_, Freddie thought with a roll of his eyes. _Do you have to be this abrasive even first thing in the morning?_

"Quiet, Puckett!" Ms. Briggs snapped, glaring at her as she passed, walking to the front of the auditorium. "Alright people, we've got a lot of ground to cover today, we need to go over the blocking for the second act! But first, who's here to audition for Mercutio?"

A few hands went up, Brad's included, and Ms. Briggs scanned the audience, her eyes landing on Reuben.

"You," she said, pointing. "Onstage."

Reuben scrambled out of his seat and onstage.

"Okay, let's see...Benson!"

"Huh?" Freddie asked, looking at her.

"Onstage too! You're gonna do a read-through with him."

Freddie sighed, rising to his feet, script in hand, and slowly made his way to the stage, and Carly stood up, scooting back over to where Sam and Brad were sitting, sitting down next to Brad. He smiled over at her, and she smiled back.

_God, she's gorgeous,_ Brad thought. _One of these days I'm really gonna have to man up._

Sam bit her lip as she watched Freddie take the stage. He looked really good today, in a crisp blue button up that complimented his skin beautifully, and dark jeans that fit him oh-so-well.

_God, Puckett,_ she scolded herself. _Quit looking at his ass!_

Sam had always been a fan of Freddie's butt, but she had to put that out of her mind, and quick.

_Stop thinking about his ass, remember...he IS an ass!_

"Act two, scene four," Ms. Briggs said curtly. "After Romeo enters."

Freddie turned to the proper scene and waited for Reuben to follow suit, looking at him expectedly.

"Uh..." Freddie said, and Reuben stared at him.

"Oh!" he said. "Me?"

"Uh, yeah," Freddie said flatly with a roll of his eyes.

"Okay. Uh...without his...eggs. Like a dried...fish."

"That is not the line!" Freddie said, sounding agitated.

Sam leaned over Brad whispering to Carly. "And...enter the Shakespeare Nazi."

"Sam!" Carly hissed, giving her a look. "Quiet!"

Sam let out an annoyed grunt as Brad put a hand over her face, pushing her back into her seat, and she hit him in the chest with her rolled up script.

"Will you two chill?" Carly stated, glaring at both of them, and Sam made a face, looking straight ahead as they all continued to watch the trainwreck that was Reuben's audition.

"I'm paraphrasing!" Reuben shouted. "This script's harder to understand than a bowl full of turkeys."

"NEXT!" Ms. Briggs called. Brad's hand shot up, and she nodded at him.

"Onstage," she barked. "And since your predecessor took it upon himself to ruin that scene, we'll try a different one. Act 1, scene 4. Benson, start with your line that comes right after Benvolio's."

"That's me!" Gibby said excitedly, and Carly and Sam both shushed him.

Freddie rolled his eyes at Gibby's outburst, looking down at the script.

"Give me a torch, I am not for this ambling," Freddie recited. "Being but heavy, I will bear the light."

_God, Freddie, must you make Shakespeare sound even duller,_ Sam thought as she watched him, rolling her eyes.

But it became very clear to everyone in the auditorium who was watching that Brad onstage would be anything but dull.

"Nay, gentle Romeo!" he stated, reaching out and shoving Freddie's shoulder lightly. "We must have you dance!"

The sudden shove must've woke Freddie up a little, and he looked over at Brad, shaking his head in amusement, before continuing.

"Not I, believe me! You have dancing shoes with nimble soles, but I...I have a soul of lead!"

"You are a lover," Brad said with a smirk. "Borrow cupid's wings and sore with them above a common bound!" He even stretched his arms like wings as he recited the Bard's poetry, and Carly's eyebrows went up, impressed.

"He's...pretty good," she commented, and Sam nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene. Brad WAS good, and as much as she hated to admit it, Freddie and Brad had a pretty good chemistry onstage, it was obvious already. But Sam wasn't really looking at Brad, she was looking at Freddie. He seemed to be getting a little...competitive with Brad, and that was an interesting thing to watch. Both of them kept ramping up the drama, trying to push the other one harder.

"I am too sore enpierced with his shaft..."

"Huh, he said shaft..." Gibby laughed, and Carly reached forward and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Be quiet! They're really good together!"

"...to soar with light feathers," Freddie finished. Ugh, that part was true. He was still so lovesick over Sam, it was driving him nuts. But working with Brad was interesting. He was a really good actor, and he made Freddie want to be better too. Freddie supposed he could tear his eyes away from the script, he had most of it memorized anyway.

"I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe," he said, looking over everyone sitting there watching them. Almost against his will, his eyes drifted over to Sam, and he felt a sharp pain stab at him as he looked at her. "Under love's heavy burden do I sink."

At that statement, Freddie and Sam's eyes were locked on each other, and at that moment, they both felt the heavy burden of love. A play that was five hundred years old about two teenagers, two star-crossed lovers, and it still applied today. It was quiet in the auditorium, though there must have been thirty people there, but to Sam and Freddie, no one else existed. All they could do was stare at each other, totally entranced.

"And to sink in it, should you burden love!" Brad said, grabbing Freddie's shoulder and snapping him out of his thoughts. "Too great oppression for a tender thing."

_Dude, you better step up,_ Brad thought, annoyed. _I need this role!_

"Is love a tender thing?" Freddie responded, glancing back at Sam. "It is too rough, too boisterous...and she pricks like thorns."

Sam glared at him, shaking her head. _**She**__ pricks like thorns? While you're staring right at me? Cute, Benson._

"If love be rough with you, be rough with love!" Brad shouted. "Prick love for pricking and you beat love down!"

Brad tried his hardest to keep Freddie's head in the scene and off Sam, and it was working. The two bantered back and forth beautifully, just as the way the Bard would have wanted it. They read through the entire scene, and when Mercutio's monologue of Queen Mab came, no one was able to take their eyes off Brad. He was a little over the top, but he was GOOD. Beyond that, he was AMAZING.

"Holy lord," Carly commented, looking over at Sam as Brad continued his monologue. "Did you know he could act like that?"

"No clue," Sam said with a shake of her head, obviously stunned. "Seems like a real waste just to have him as an intern..."

"He's incredible," Carly murmured, and Sam could only nod.

Freddie had to admit it too, Brad was good, but he was a little too over-the-top. He'd have to learn to reel this in, or he'd make everyone look bad.

"...this is the hag when maids lie on their backs that presses them and learns them first to bear, making them women of good carriage! This is she! This is she!" he yelled, falling onto his knees. Freddie just stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest and glaring down at him.

"Really?" Freddie asked, and Brad responded by hitting him in the leg.

"Keep. Character." Brad said through gritted teeth.

"I think that's enough," Ms. Briggs stated. "Freddie, you screwed up a line. It was IT pricks like thorns, not SHE pricks like thorns."

"Sorry," he said with a shrug. "I was...distracted." He shot a glare over at Sam, who just scowled at him.

_Oh yeah, I distracted you,_ Sam thought. _Brad's rolling around onstage, I'm sitting here totally silent, and yet I distracted you? Asshole._

"So?" Brad asked as he rose to his feet. "Did I do okay? Did I get the part?"

"Yes, you got the part," Ms. Briggs said, sounding uninterested. "Now go sit down."

"Whoo-hoo!" Brad yelled, high-fiving with Freddie.

"Good job, man," Freddie said slapping him on the back. "You're Mercutio."

"Hell yeah, I'm Mercutio!" Brad responded. "I will eat, sleep, and breathe Mercutio. I will LIVE Mercutio!"

"You do know that Mercutio dies, right?" Freddie asked.

"What?"

"Both of you sit down!" Ms. Briggs yelled. "I don't have time for this!"

Brad started to go back to the side Sam and Carly were sitting on, but Freddie grabbed his arm, pulling him with him.

"Dude, come on. You gonna abandon me too? Not bad enough that Carly and Gibby jumped ship?"

"But..." Brad whined, looking over at Carly.

"Come on!"

"You don't want more cuddles time with Wendy?" Brad asked pointedly, and Freddie shook his head, a grim expression on his face.

"Please?"

"Ugh, fine," Brad replied, following Freddie to his seat. He shrugged as Sam caught his eye, mouthing 'What the hell?' But Freddie was his friend too, so he needed to spend a little time with him.

Even if the person he wanted to spend time with was sitting on the other side of the auditorium, and the sole reason he was here.

On the other side of the auditorium, Sam was trying to mentally prepare herself for running through lines with Freddie. She looked through her lines nervously, biting her nails.

"Sam, you'll be fine," Carly commented softly, squeezing her arm reassuringly.

"I hate running lines with him," Sam said. "He always looks at me like I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot."

"Ugh, why can't we just skip to the part where we both die?"

"Sam!" Carly laughed. "Quit being dramatic!"

"I can't! I'm acting in a drama! We're supposed to be dramatic!"

"Yeah, but you're carrying it off the stage and into real life!"

"But...come on...look at this!" Sam whined. "The scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet? Kill me! Kill me now!"

"Sam...relax. Don't worry. It'll be okay."

"Easy for you to say!" she cried.

"Alright, let's do this!" Ms. Briggs shouted as she walked back in. "Puckett! Benson! Onstage!"

Freddie groaned, rising to his feet again, and Wendy grabbed his hand, looking up at him.

"You don't have to kiss her in rehearsals," she reminded him, and he nodded.

"I know. Don't worry," he said, bending down to kiss her, a gesture meant to reassure her, that she had nothing to worry about.

Of course, that wasn't true. It was very worrisome for a girl's boyfriend to be in love with another girl. Freddie knew that. But he couldn't help it as he dragged himself onstage, flipping open the script and then looking over at Sam.

_Oh god, she looks gorgeous. And she hates me. And we have to say all this romantic stuff to each other. _

_Kill me. Kill me now. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"Where is my Tybalt?" Ms. Briggs cried as Sam, Carly, and Freddie waited rather impatiently onstage, along with Riley, who was playing the role of Lord Capulet, and a girl named Kelsey, who played the role of the nurse. The aforementioned Kelsey who had gone after Brad, and she gave him a happy little wave onstage, which he halfheartedly returned. Carly's eyebrows went up, and she glanced over at Sam, but Sam wasn't really paying attention, she was looking down at her script nervously, biting her nails . This was a scene involving Romeo, Juliet, Nurse, Tybalt, and Lord Capulet, and it was a key scene, when Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. The chemistry had to be obvious from the first word, but Sam just wanted to make it through the scene without bursting into tears.

_If he makes me cry, I will beat him to death in front of everyone_, she thought, glaring over at Freddie, who was also glued to his script.

"Uh..." Kelsey raised her hand awkwardly. "I talked to Luke last night, he was a little bit sick...it could be Mono."

"Oh, for heaven's sake! If you kids would stop kissing each other and spreading that stuff around, we may actually have a shot at getting something done."

_No kidding_, Freddie thought, glancing over at Sam. She hadn't given him Mono, but something worse. The way he felt every time he looked at her, he'd rather get Mono.

"Whatever, I'll read his lines," Ms. Briggs stated. "Carly Shay! Begin!"

Carly sighed, and began to read her lines aloud, making a face at them.

_Ladies that have their toes unplagued with corns shall dance with you?_ She read, her nose wrinkling up. _Well isn't THAT romantic?_

"Could you sound any more uninterested?" Ms. Briggs snapped, rolling her eyes. "You really need to work on this, Shay."

"Sorry," Carly said weakly, looking over at Sam, who just poked her.

"I'll help you," she murmured, and then her face took on a look that Carly couldn't quite read. "I mean...Brad. Brad will help you."

"Brad?" Carly asked, sounding confused. "Why not you?"

"Because that kid's gonna win a freaking Oscar one day, that's why!" Sam replied.

"FOCUS!"

"Ugh," Sam said with a groan.

The rest of the cast dragged through their lines, sounding almost pained, until it came to Freddie, and everyone looked at him expectantly. The drama students knew the score, they knew that Sam Puckett and Freddie Benson were only here because they couldn't get along, and that made them incredibly jealous. They'd all been waiting for a prime role like Romeo or Juliet, acting being their passions, and the two most important roles of the play had been given out as punishment. It wasn't right! And now with the rest of the iCarlys here...everyone worried it would turn out to be a joke, that they'd do something outrageous and embarrass everyone, and it would inevitably end up on the internet.

But Sam didn't want to get expelled, and Freddie didn't want to get suspended, and they both knew what would happen if they screwed up. They just had to bite their tongues and get this whole thing over as quickly as possible. Sam tried to keep a bored expression on her face as she walked to her spot on the blocking, the part when Romeo sees Juliet for the first time.

Freddie sighed, looking down at his script, and began to read.

"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"

"Wait wait wait!" Ms. Briggs cried. "You need to look at her while you say it. Make it believable!"

_I can't look at her_, Freddie thought grimly. _It hurts to look at her!_ But still, he sighed in resignation, finally willing himself to look at Sam.

"Better. Continue."

"Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear; beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear."

Sam's head snapped up as she heard a sarcastic laugh offstage, and she looked down at the auditorium seats, glaring at Wendy, who merely smirked at her. Sam was still having a little trouble trying to understand all of Shakespeare's words, but she definitely got what Wendy meant by that laugh!

Freddie just sighed, covering his face with his script. Oh, great. Just great. Wendy had just signed her own death warrant with that one, and truth to be told, even if a very large part of him hated Sam, what Wendy had just done annoyed him thoroughly. It just SCREAMED insecurity, and Freddie wasn't cool with that. Why was Wendy being so insecure? They spent practically all of their time together, it's not like he was sneaking off to go be with Sam.

_Am I that obvious?_ Freddie thought to himself. _Can everybody tell that I still have feelings for her? Can SHE tell I still have feelings for her?_

"Wendy, quiet!" Ms. Briggs said sharply. "Benson, continue!"

Freddie continued to read through the script, exchanging dialogue with Ms. Briggs who was reading as Tybalt, then she read through the exchange with Lord Capulet, and finally it had come time for Freddie, as Romeo, to approach Sam, his Juliet.

Freddie sighed, dragging his feet over to Sam, looking morose.

_Geez, Benson,_ Sam thought, exasperated. _You are the worst actor ever! _

It was slightly embarrassing, the fact that Freddie was making it obvious he didn't want to be anywhere near her. Couple that with Wendy's little laugh at the comment about Sam/Juliet being beautiful, and the fact that the drama kids were pissed off and treating her like a leper, and it made for a very vulnerable, very insecure Sam.

Freddie turned a page in his script, staring down at it even though he knew the words. If he looked up at Sam for just a second, he might lose it completely.

"If...if I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this. My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss," Freddie stammered.

"Now reach for her hand," Ms. Briggs said, and Sam and Freddie both stared at her with pleading looks on their faces, and Sam shook her head slightly. "Do it!"

With a roll of his eyes, Freddie took Sam's hand in his, looking down at it, and his eyes quickly darted up to meet hers when he noticed how her hand trembled.

"And, move to kiss..."

As was per the scene, Freddie moved to kiss Sam's hand, but she quickly jerked it away, like Juliet was supposed to do, even though she wanted to hold onto it forever.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong, your hand...too much," she said, staring at Freddie. "What mannerly devotion shows in this? For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

_I can't touch you, and I can't kiss you_, Sam thought. _If I do, I'll lose it._

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" Freddie responded, looking up from the script at her.

_If Wendy wasn't here, I could definitely kiss her, and get away with it. It'd just be acting, right? _

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer," Sam said. _Right now, I am praying to die._

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair," Freddie replied. _I have completely lost my faith, and I am in the depths of despair._

It was almost ironic, the way that every single one of Shakespeare's words hit home with Freddie. It was punishment from the universe itself. Lose the girl you loved, watch her get with another guy, and then have to stare into her eyes and recite words about love. He would have preferred a suspension.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake," Sam said softly, staring at the ground. She knew what was coming, and she had to pretend her legs were cemented into the ground, otherwise she would have run off-stage and never come back. She didn't want Freddie to touch her, because secretly, she DID want Freddie to touch her, and she didn't want to lose control.

Freddie sighed, shooting a look over at Ms. Briggs, a pleading look, that seemed to say, 'You are completely heartless if you make me do this. DON'T make me do this.'

"Benson!"

"Ugh," he groaned softly to himself, and Sam's eyes lifted from the floor, giving him a death glare.

_Oh yeah, that's right, Benson. Make it OBVIOUS that you don't want to touch me and that the idea of kissing me makes you sick. _

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."

_Breathe, Freddie. You can do this_, he thought as he took a step closer to Sam. The blocking for the scene had been laid out two days before, and he was supposed to put both hands on her waist, pull her to him, and kiss her.

She noticeably tensed up when he put his hands on her, and that made him feel terrible. She never tensed up when they were together; back then, she almost seemed to melt into his touch, press against him softly, like their bodies were made for each other. He would have given anything to feel that again; her warmth, her scent, the soft touch of her lips. Her eyes squeezed themselves shut and she had a pained expression across her beautiful face, like the idea of kissing him made her stomach turn. He pulled her closer, hands shaking the entire time, bending his head to brush his lips across hers.

_You can do this. You can do this. Just relax. It's just acting. It's just acting. It's just... _

Sam's eyes popped open suddenly, staring into his, lips parted slightly, and Freddie stopped in his tracks, their faces mere inches away from each other. They gazed at each other for a long moment, unable to look away.

_I still love you, Freddie,_ Sam thought as she stared at him. _I can't do this._

_I'm still completely in love with you, Sam,_ Freddie's brain screamed at him._ I can't handle this._ His hands dropped from her waist, and just like that, he pulled away, leaving Sam wanting, wishing, and feeling empty inside.

_He can't even stand to look at me._

That realization hit her like a truck, and she took a few steps back, before turning and quickly walking off the stage.

"Puckett! Get back here!" Ms. Briggs yelled, but Sam just blew her off.

"Screw this!" she yelled, leaving everyone dumbfounded, especially Carly.

"Sam!" she yelled, literally leaping off the stage and rushing after her. "Sam!"

"Carly Shay! You come back right now!" Ms. Briggs screamed, but it was too late, Sam and Carly had both already left the auditorium, and Ms. Briggs grumbled to herself. "Where's the understudy!"

"You didn't cast an understudy," Gibby pointed out.

"Quiet, Gibby!" Ms. Briggs responded. "Okay, who wants to stand in as Juliet?"

Predictably, Wendy's hand shot up. "I'll do it!" She didn't even wait for Ms. Briggs to give her the okay, just scrambled onstage, taking Sam's place; in Wendy's mind, her rightful place, giving Freddie a sweet smile.

"This is better, right?" she asked flirtily, and Freddie sighed, his eyes drifting over to the double doors Sam had ran out of, slightly wistful. "Freddie?"

His eyes snapped back to Wendy, forcing a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, this is way better."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

"Sam! Slow down!" Carly yelled as she chased Sam down the hallway. "Sam!"

Sam finally willed herself to come to a stop, leaning against the lockers and letting out a sigh.

"What?" she responded flatly, her back to Carly.

Carly walked around to the other side of Sam so she could stare her best friend in the face. "Are you...you know...okay?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Sam," Carly said, giving her a Look. "I know you. You are NOT fine."

"How would you know?"

"Because you're my best friend!" Carly cried. "And I know it can't be easy to stand up there onstage, in front of everyone...and knowing you're going to have to kiss someone you're still in love with."

"I am not in love with Freddie," Sam grumbled with a roll of her eyes, and Carly shook her head.

"Liar. You never stopped loving him."

"I have a boyfriend, Carly!"

Carly just gave Sam a pointed look, silent for a moment.

"Do you love Anthony?"

"I..." Sam trailed off, biting her bottom lip.

"Do you love the fact that he makes you look like a Barbie doll just so he'll be seen in public with you? Or that he paws you in the middle of the hallway in front of everyone? You're just a piece of meat to him, Sam!"

"It's better than nothing!" Sam cried. "And he's not that bad!"

"The guy's a total jerk, Sam!" Carly shot back. "He's using you as arm candy, and you're using him to make Freddie think you're over him...which is a total lie, because I can tell you're not! You're still in love with him!"

"No, I'm not!" Sam responded.

"Then why'd you run away?"

"Because this is stupid," Sam replied with a roll of her eyes. "I don't want to be involved in this stupid play any more. It's lame."

"Well, it's less lame than being expelled!" Carly replied. "Alright, fine...you say you're not in love with Freddie, then okay, you're not in love with Freddie. But you still have to get through this!"

"I'm not sure I can," Sam said softly with a shake of her head, and Carly sighed, a little exasperated. There had to be a way to get her best friend back in gear. She didn't know what happened to Sam over the last few weeks, but she didn't like it. Sam seemed a little melancholy, more removed than usual...like a shell of her former self, and Carly couldn't be sure if it was due to that jerk she was dating, or if the split with Freddie really had broken her heart. But either way, Carly was going to do everything in her power to help her out. But how? She had to find a way to get into that girl's head, and...

Bingo. Carly gave her friend a challenging look, and Sam's eyes narrowed, shaking her head slowly.

"I know that look," Sam stated, but Carly just shrugged.

"No look. Just thinking..."

"About?"

"You're really over Freddie?"

"Uh, yeah, we've talked about this a billion times already!"

"And you hate Freddie?"

"Yeah, he's an asshole."

Carly cocked her head to the side, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"If you leave now, then Freddie's gonna know he got to you."

"Oh, god..." Sam groaned. "I hate it when you're right. That stupid nub has not GOT to me."

"If you say so..." Carly replied in a sing-song voice, and Sam practically growled at her, giving Carly a challenging look. Carly merely smirked at her; she knew exactly what she was doing. Sam was never one to admit her feelings, and would go to great lengths to keep them hidden. Carly had just hit a sore spot, and Sam had reacted quite predictably.

"He hasn't!"

"Prove it," Carly said with a shrug.

"Ugh! Fine! Come on, Shay, let's move it...before Briggs gives me detention or something."

With that, Sam brushed past Carly, heading back to the auditorium, and Carly couldn't help but be pleased with herself. She felt a little bit bad for manipulating one of Sam's weaknesses, but she'd done it for Sam's own good. If Sam were to walk away from the play now, she'd be expelled. Not only that, but if she and Freddie could just get over their stubbornness, just admit to one another how they felt, then they'd both be okay again. Carly wasn't blind to what the separation had done to her friends. They were both with people who just weren't right for them and unhappy, and Carly hated to see it.

Of course, a lot of Carly being so adamant to getting them back together was also something to take her mind off her own love life...or lack thereof. She was quite lonely these days, and it was slightly disheartening, but she'd never been one to focus on the bad stuff. No, she would occupy her time with getting her two best friends together, because it was best for them.

Carly followed Sam down the hall towards the auditorium and in through the double doors, and was pretty pleased with herself for being sneaky enough to coerce Sam into going back. She was so pleased with herself in fact, that she hadn't noticed Sam had frozen in her tracks and unceremoniously crashed right into her.

"Aah!" she squeaked, steadying herself. "Sam! Why did you..."

Carly trailed off as she followed Sam's line of sight, and silently cursed herself for not keeping Sam out in the hallway longer. It seemed as though Wendy had taken Sam's place as Juliet for the time being, and Sam and Carly had walked back in right at Romeo and Juliet's first kiss.

Carly had suspected it slightly before, but watching Wendy throw her arms around Freddie and press against him, it officially cemented it.

_Wendy, you reek of desperation_, Carly thought with a shake of her head. Wendy was a friend, but Sam was her best friend, and Wendy was currently onstage, pawing all over the guy Sam was desperately in love with. Carly didn't want to take sides, but she had a feeling she was going to be forced to.

It was definitely an interesting thing to watch though, Carly had to admit. Freddie did NOT behave like a guy who was in love. He didn't lean into the kiss, but he didn't shy away either. He just accepted it, and Carly had a sneaking suspicion the entire relationship was like that. Wendy just sort of fell into his lap, and he took it. Carly didn't know how long it would last, but either way, it didn't look like he was going to be in it for the long haul.

While Carly stood there as Wendy and Freddie kissed like a casual observer, Sam was seeing red.

_Quit pawing my man, you bitch!_

She felt quite sheepish for thinking that. Freddie wasn't her man, at least not any more. He was Wendy's...and Sam had her own man. Too bad she could barely even remember his name right now...she was too wrapped up in the anger she felt watching Wendy kiss Freddie.

Sam knew it was over between herself and Freddie. Wendy had Freddie now, and that was bad enough, she'd be damned if she let Wendy traipse around onstage any longer as Juliet! Maybe it had been a punishment, but it was HER part! This was not happening!

Recovering quickly, she stormed down the aisle like she owned the place, walking back onstage without so much as a word.

"Are you done butchering Juliet yet?" she asked Wendy calmly, arms crossed over her chest, and Wendy gave her an incredulous look.

"What did you just say to me?" she replied.

"Miss Puckett!" Ms. Briggs yelled, but Sam just waved her off, focusing all her attention on Wendy.

"Did I stutter?" Sam replied with a shrug. "I just thinking you may have a little bit of trouble reading the lines with all those big words."

"Coming from YOU, that's hilarious," Wendy replied, stepping away from Freddie and giving Sam a death glare. "You're under the impression that you're a better actress, and I'll give you that, you get plenty of practice, but when it comes to romance, especially with HIM, I've definitely got you beat in that department."

Sam's eyebrows lifted in disbelief, shaking her head. "Oh really? I dated him too!"

Oh my god, Freddie thought as he watched the two girls go back and forth. Are they fighting over the part or over me?

"Uh, girls, maybe you should..." he began.

"Shut up, Freddie!" they both yelled, before glaring at each other. "Don't tell him to shut up!"

Sam was already irritated to begin with, but it absolutely drove her nuts whenever someone would say the same thing she did, at the same time, and she absolutely wanted to kill Wendy at that moment.

"Look!" Wendy yelled, taking a step towards her. "He broke up with you, Sam! It's cute that you're trying to step in now, but it's too late."

_Oh my god, I am going to kill her_, Sam thought as she narrowed her eyes and began advancing toward Wendy.

_Oh my god, she's going to kill her!_ Freddie could see it coming a mile away, and quickly stepped between them.

"Sam!" he said, holding his hands up. "Back off!"

"Stepping in front of her won't save both of you from a beating," she growled. "You wanna try me, Benson?"

"No! I don't! I just want to get through rehearsals so I can go home!" he replied. "Wendy, go sit down!"

Wendy looked at him, slightly surprised. "But, Freddie..."

"You were just running lines until she got back, remember?" Freddie replied, and Wendy still looked dubious. Sighing, he looked over at Ms. Briggs. "Ms. Briggs, please help me out here."

"Are you three done yet?" Ms. Briggs responded as she flipped through her phone, not even looking up. "I've got things to do. Puckett, you run off like that again, you're out, and you know what that means."

"Sorry," Sam replied with a shrug. "The idea of kissing Freddie made my gag reflex kick in."

_Wow, that was lame_, she thought to herself. _Even Freddie can tell I'm full of shit with that one._ A quick glance over at him, and she knew she was right, the way he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Perhaps it would have worked before she and Wendy got into their little shouting match, but not now.

She had fought with Wendy. Over Freddie. In front of everyone. Great. Now she looked completely ridiculous, instead of just sort of ridiculous. One thing was for sure though, she had to get through this, without running away this time. She just had to go through the motions, act like it didn't bother her, and it'd be over with soon enough.

Wendy actually had the nerve to bump into her as she walked offstage, hard enough that Sam had to take a step back to steady herself, and she responded with a threatening glare, which Wendy returned with a smirk.

_Well that's interesting_, Sam thought to herself. This entire time, she'd been pissed at Freddie about moving on with Wendy, but it seemed like her anger had been misplaced. She was still angry at him, sure, but she was angrier at Wendy. Between the rude little snickers during Sam's read, jumping up to take her place when Sam walked out, and the argument that had just occurred, this was more than just a fight.

This was war.

"Are you ready, Puckett, or do you expect everyone to move according to your time?" Ms. Briggs asked rudely, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"I'm ready."

"Fine. Pick up right after the kiss."

With a shrug, Sam turned back in the direction of Freddie. If she was going to be forced to be here, she may as well kick ass at it...and bug the hell out of Wendy in the process. Sam's eyes slid over to Wendy, giving her a smirk, before putting both of her hands on Freddie's shoulders. She tried to ignore how muscular they were, tried to ignore the butterflies she felt in her stomach as his deep brown eyes locked on hers, but it wasn't easy.

Meanwhile, Freddie had a rush of thoughts and emotions flooding through his own head. He was still completely taken aback by the fight that had sparked up between Sam and Wendy. It had left him confused. Did this mean Sam still harbored feelings for him? Or was she just irked about Wendy taking her place as Juliet? And oh man, he was going to be in serious trouble with Wendy after this rehearsal was over. He'd told her to go sit down without even looking at her! She wasn't going to like that one bit!

And oh geez, Sam was touching him, staring at him. He knew she was acting, but it still made him feel all tingly.

_She smells amazing,_ he thought, before trying to shake the thought out of his head. _Focus, man!_

"You kiss by the book," Sam recited, sliding her hands down him arms. _Oh come on! His arms feel like they're made of stone! This is torture!_

Her hands slid down lower, touching the bare skin of his arms, and he completely blanked out on one what supposed to happen next. All he could do was stare at her, focus on how beautiful he thought she was.

_Why did I ever let her go?_

"Madam, your mother craves a word with you," Kelsey, playing the role of Nurse, spoke up.

Neither Freddie nor Sam moved, they both continued to stare at each other, seemingly under one another's spell, and Kelsey let out a frustrated sigh.

"Madam! Your mother craves a word with you!"

Still nothing.

"Puckett! Benson!" Ms. Briggs roared, snapping the two out of their trance.

"Uh...right. Sorry," Sam muttered, stepping away.

The rest of the scene was shaky at best. Everyone was pretty riled up from Sam's sudden departure, then the argument between the two girls, and Freddie and Sam missing lines every time they looked at each other. All were relieved when it began to draw to a close.

"His name is Romeo, and a Montague. The only son of your great enemy," Kelsey said, the entire time glaring at Sam.

_Yep, the whole drama club hates me now. Greeeat._

"My only love, sprung from my only hate," Sam replied. _Well isn't that the truth?_ "Too early seen unknown, and known too late. Prodigious birth of love it is to me that I must love a loathed enemy."

_I hate you, Shakespeare,_ Sam thought. _You are hitting way too close to home._

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Wendy, wait!" Freddie yelled as he chased her out of the auditorium the moment rehearsals were over. "Slow down!"

"I'm not talking to you," she yelled over her shoulder.

Freddie growled to himself in agitation as he moved around people trying to catch up to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

"Will you stop?" he responded, forcing her to look at him. "What's the matter with you?"

Wendy glared at him for a second, shaking her head. "How could you just stand there and let her talk to me like that?"

_Oh god, really? An argument in front of everyone?_ Freddie felt his face begin to redden. People had stopped walking around him as Wendy's voice began to rise in pitch and frequency, and were staring at them like they were a sideshow or something.

"What are you talking about?" he responded. "I stepped between you and an ass-kicking, didn't I? She was going to hit you! Come on, you know Sam...you shouldn't have gotten her all riled up like that."

"I can't believe you're defending her," Wendy hissed. "I'm your girlfriend, not her!"

"Wendy, I'm not defending her, I'm just saying..."

"And you just asked me to go sit down? What, you WANT to be doing this with her?"

"Of course not!" he replied. "You think I want to be involved in this stupid play...with Sam of all people? I don't! But I don't want to get suspended, and you know if she bails that could easily happen!"

Wendy shook her head, not entirely convinced. "It's more than that, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what it means," she replied steadily. "You're still in love with her."

Freddie stared at Wendy for a second, biting his lip, and shook his head slowly. "That's ridiculous." He tried to ignore the fact that people were still staring at him. At least Sam had the common decency to not pick a fight with him in public when they were together!

"Is it?" Wendy replied. "Then say it! Look me in the eye and say it!"

Freddie sighed, his head falling down in frustration for a moment. Things were not supposed to be this messed up! The plan was to get over Sam, to move on with a fresh, new relationship. But this? It was like she was constantly hanging over his head, and it was becoming obvious, especially to Wendy.

"I'm waiting," Wendy said impatiently, tapping her foot, and Freddie just sighed in resignation.

"I'm not in love with Sam," he finally said, staring at Wendy.

_Okay, that was a lie._

"I..." Freddie began. "I...I'm in love with you."

_That was an even bigger lie._

He didn't know why he'd said it, but it seemed like the only thing that would calm Wendy down. Apparently it had worked, because her face took on a happy expression, breaking into a smile, before throwing her arms around him.

"Oh, Freddie!" she cried happily, kissing him. "I love you too!"

He gave her a smile, but it was a perfunctory one, hugging her lightly and then letting her go. He felt horrible. He'd just told two lies, two HUGE lies that he'd be unable to get out of. If he took it back now, he'd be in all kinds of trouble. Wendy would dump him, and he couldn't have that. He refused to be the lonely dork any longer.

"I've gotta get going," Wendy said as she held his hand. "I have plans with my mom, but I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sounds good," he said with another fake smile.

"I'll miss you," she said sweetly, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

"I'll miss you too," he replied. She kissed him once more, and with that, she was gone, leaving Freddie alone.

Or he thought he was. He turned around to find Brad watching him intently.

"What?" he barked, and Brad shrugged.

"You're an idiot," he replied, causing Freddie to glare at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Brad just laughed, shaking his head. "You are so screwed. You don't love that girl. You're in over your head now."

"I could love her," Freddie offered, and Brad shook his head.

"Nope. Either you feel it, or you don't. And you do, just not for her."

"What?"

"You're still in love with Sam. Everyone can see it. You just don't have the balls to tell her."

Freddie scoffed, rolling his eyes. "That's rich, coming from you. You can't even muster up the courage to ask Carly out."

Brad glared at him for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Whatever, dude. Later." With that, Brad walked around him, heading for the door.

"No, wait, Brad...I didn't mean...damn it!" Freddie growled, kicking one of the auditorium seats.

Well, wasn't this just ducky? He was completely in over his head now. He'd lied to Wendy, pissed Brad off, and now he had to deal with Sam gunning for both him AND Wendy.

"I hate you, Shakespeare," Freddie grumbled to himself before walking out of the empty auditorium.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Sam's eyes popped open, her mouth still pressed against Anthony's. She'd opened her eyes because she felt Anthony's hand steadily making its ascent up her back, under her shirt, and it was headed right for her bra. Startled, she pulled away from his mouth.

They were in Anthony's car, parked at what the local area teenagers had dubbed Makeout Point, just an old parking lot in the middle of the woods where some lame camping grounds used to be. The campgrounds had been shut down years before, and now people just came here to make out. But Sam was really, really regretting being here with Anthony.

"Anthony," she said slowly. "Slow down."

He jerked away from her, his eyes snapping with irritation. "Why?" he barked.

Sam just shook her head. "It's too soon, I...I'm not ready."

"But we've been dating for weeks!" he argued, moving to kiss her again, growling in irritation when she moved away. "Come on, Samantha."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I've asked you not to call me that," she sighed as she leaned back against the passenger seat of Anthony's car, flipping the mirror down to fix her mussed up hair.

"Sam is a dude's name," Anthony remarked. "But that's not surprising. Until you got ahold of me you dressed like a dude."

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Sam shot back. "I don't dress like a dude!"

"Well, not now," Anthony replied with a smirk, inching toward her again. "In fact, you look pretty hot. Let me show you..." he scooted across the car quickly, one arm going around her waist and kissing her neck with no lead up whatsoever. He just started sucking on her neck like a vacuum cleaner. He was going to leave a mark!

"Oh my god, get off!" Sam shouted, shoving him off her firmly. "I mean it!"

Anthony rolled his eyes, getting back in his seat. "You're such a prude."

"I'm not a prude," Sam replied.

"Then why do you keep pushing me away?"

_Because you're not Freddie,_ Sam thought.

Suddenly, Anthony looked over at her, his eyes narrowing. "Bet you let the nerd get in your pants."

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Sam yelled.

"I'm just saying. Mighty unfair you let Benson get the prize, and not me."

"Nobody has 'gotten the prize', you stupid stubrag," Sam growled.

"So you're a virgin?" Anthony said with a laugh. "That explains so much."

"What exactly does it mean?" Sam responded, her hands on her hips. She was inches away from jumping out of his car.

"We just need to loosen you up, that's all," Anthony replied, moving in for the kill again, only to be rebuffed by Sam once more. "Samantha, if you keep pulling this shit on me, you know it's not going to work out."

"Oh, what, if I don't sleep with you you'll dump me?" Sam surmised with a roll of her eyes. "Get bent!" With that, she flung the car door open. They were at least fifteen miles from Sam's apartment, but she didn't care. Anything was better than being in the car with him right now.

"Get back in the car, Samantha!"

"Just leave me alone, Anthony!" Sam snapped, grabbing her purse and slamming the car door shut as she walked away. She was surprised to hear the screeching of tires as Anthony suddenly put the car in reverse and drove away, but she was only slightly surprised.

_Well that went well_, Sam thought with a roll of her eyes. Who was she kidding? She couldn't be with a guy like Anthony. Even if she wasn't head over heels for Freddie, Anthony wouldn't do. He was a jerk.

_Except now you're stuck walking back to your place, you loser,_ Sam grumbled to herself. _And in heels too? You should've pick-pocketed him before you got out of his car, then you would have had money for cab fare. At least I'll have plenty of time to think._

Sam did just that as she began to walk through the woods. Ugh, why had she ever agreed to come here, to the makeout spot? Oh that's right, she hadn't. Anthony had just drove them here after their movie date, calling it a surprise. Some surprise! He was lucky he didn't get punched in the head!

Sam finally made it out of the woods and onto the main road, which was all dark except for a few dim streetlights, not a single car on the road. Great. She had to walk down the road in those stupid heels and that stupid skirt! She was never, ever, ever getting dressed up for a guy again. What was she thinking? Pretending to be something she wasn't, all for a guy. She'd never make that mistake again.

As she walked down the road, she hugged her arms, rubbing them up and down. It was getting cold. She became faintly aware of headlights and moved to the side of the road, trying to ignore the honking of a car horn. Oh, perfect! What a great way to end a horrible day!

The car slowed to Sam's pace, but Sam tried to ignore the car, continuing to stare straight ahead and not break her gait.

"Hey pretty lady! You need a lift?"

"Ugh," Sam groaned with a roll of her eyes, continuing to walk. The driver didn't give up though, continuing to honk, trying to get Sam to look at him.

"I'm talking to you, sweet cheeks!"

"Look, asshole!" Sam snapped, finally turning to look at the car, only to find herself rolling her eyes. "Gibby!"

"You're not very appreciative of rides, are you?" he responded with a smirk, and Sam just shook her head, walking over to Gibby's car, pulling the door open and climbing in.

"Uh...thanks," she muttered, and Gibby just shrugged.

"Want me to take you home?" he asked, and Sam nodded, leaning her head back. "Funny running into you here."

"Trust me Gibs, you are not the weirdest thing I've encountered today."

"Yeah, rehearsal was pretty bad," Gibby agreed with a nod, and Sam let out a groan.

"Oh, god! I had almost forgotten about that!"

"Sorry," Gibby responded, making a face. "So...if you don't mind me asking, why were you walking down the street...dressed like...well...that?"

Sam gave him a death glare, shaking her head. "I'm never dressing like this for a guy ever again."

"Maybe you should try dressing like that for guys who are actually worth it," Gibby suggested. "I'm guessing there was an issue with the boyfriend?"

"Gee, how'd you know?" Sam snapped.

"Bad?"

"Well, I was walking home, so yeah...I'd say pretty bad."

"Good guys definitely don't let girls walk home by themselves," Gibby stated. "So what'd he do?"

"He was just a little...pushy."

"Ooh, did you break his thumbs?" Gibby asked hopefully, and Sam shook her head.

"Probably would have been a good idea, but no. I just got out, and then he left," Sam replied with a shrug. "But whatever."

"So it's over?"

"Way over," Sam replied with a sigh. "Why?"

Gibby shrugged. "No reason. Just...he didn't seem like your type."

"How would you know what my type is?" Sam demanded, and Gibby shrugged again.

"I think I know your type pretty well...dark hair...kinda geeky, name rhymes with Eddie Shmenson."

Sam glared at Gibby as he drove down the road, letting out a growl of warning. "Gibby, I will break YOUR thumbs AGAIN if you ever say something like that to me again. Got it?"

"Fine!" Gibby cried defensively. "I'm just saying!"

They were silent for a few minutes, and Sam just sat there, staring out the window, before letting out a bitter laugh and shaking her head.

"What?" Gibby asked.

Sam shrugged, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

Sam sighed, looking down and toying with her nails. "He never would have done that."

"Who, Freddie?"

"Yeah," she replied softly. "He never would have pushed me like that. God, sometimes I was the one who was pushing."

"I believe that," Gibby cracked, laughing as Sam swatted him on the arm.

"Shut up!" she laughed. "But...yeah. I mean...the way Anthony treats me...Freddie wouldn't dream of it. And not just because he's afraid I'd kill him, but...he's...good. He's a good person. Anthony's a jerk."

"So it's over with Anthony, right?" Gibby asked, and Sam was silent. "Right?"

"Well..."

"What's wrong with you?" Gibby cried. "Are you sick or something? You should be plotting ways to kill him, and you're not even sure if you're going to break it off?"

"Yeah, but then I'll be alone."

"But what if...never mind," Gibby replied with a shake of his head. "I don't want to get hit again."

"No, what?"

"I just think it would open certain doors for you if you were single. And come on, even if it didn't, you wanna be with a guy like that?"

"No, I don't," Sam sighed. "But...it's better than nothing. I can't have everything I want."

"So what do you want? Or should I say, who do you want?" Gibby replied, visibly shrinking when Sam glared at him. "Okay, fine. I'll shut up."

"Thank you," Sam responded, sitting back. "So...what..."

"You love Freddie."

"GIBBY!"

"Sorry!" he yelled. "Please don't hurt me!"

"I don't love Freddie," Sam grumbled.

"Okay," Gibby said with a shrug. "So...rehearsal today was pretty intense."

"Just a little," Sam grumbled.

"Thought you were gonna kill Wendy."

"I would have if Benson hadn't stepped in when he did."

"Well, then you definitely would have gotten expelled. If you ask me, you shouldn't be angry with him, you should be thanking him," Gibby commented, and Sam snorted inelegantly.

"Whatever, Gibby. He just didn't want his little girlfriend's face to be all bruised up."

"If you say so."

"Okay, what does that mean, and why are you being so cryptic all of a sudden?"

Gibby glanced over at her, before looking back at the road. "Look, Sam. I know you guys all think of me as a total idiot, like I'm the comedic relief or something. But when you guys aren't making fun of me, I pay attention to things. I see things."

"And what do you see, Gibby?"

"I can name off three people right now in our little circle that are hopelessly in love with someone they're not dating."

"Okay, one of them's obviously Brad."

"Clearly," Gibby replied with a roll of his eyes. "I'm really surprised Carly doesn't see it. If she opened her eyes for two seconds, stopped trying to get you and Freddie back together, maybe she'd notice, but..."

"Wait, WHAT?" Sam exclaimed, giving him an incredulous look. "What do you mean Carly's trying to get me and Freddie back together? Does she not get it? We're over! Done! Freddie has a girlfriend, a total bitch of a girlfriend, and I have a boyfriend..."

"Had," Gibby corrected her. "Don't tell me you're thinking about going back to that creep."

"Like he'd take me back," Sam muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Gibby, change of plans. Can you take me to Carly's? She and I need to have a little talk."

"Oh, no," Gibby groaned. "You're going to kill her, aren't you?"

"Carly is the only person on earth I would never cause bodily harm to," Sam responded. "You should know that by now."

"I guess that's true," Gibby replied with a nod. "Look, I'll take you to Carly's, if you promise not to tell her that I told you. Because she'll kill me."

"I'm not going to say anything. Now that I think about it, it's kind of obvious she's been plotting. And I need to put a stop to it."

"So you don't want Freddie back?"

Sam was quiet for a moment, silently admitting to herself that she did, in fact, want Freddie back. But she couldn't say it out loud. She looked back over at Gibby, slowly shaking her head.

"No. I don't."

"Wow, that sounded REALLY convincing," Gibby said sarcastically, ignoring the glare Sam gave him.

"Just because you gave me a ride and probably saved me from ax-murderers doesn't mean I won't hit you."

"Duly noted," Gibby replied. "Okay, fine, let's say you don't want him back...like in a relationship. You still miss him. As a friend."

"I'll give you that," Sam sighed. "I miss that part."

"And you guys are wasting your time arguing, letting the show suffer, letting the play suffer. It's kind of sad. Like things are never going to be the same."

"Well, you're right about that," Sam said. "Things will never be the same."

"Maybe if you tried getting along with him, they'd be better."

"And how do I do that, exactly?" Sam demanded as Gibby pulled up outside Bushwell. Gibby merely shrugged, leaning on the steering wheel.

"You're a smart girl, Sam. You'll figure it out."

Sam sat there for a moment, nodding. "I guess so. Uh...thanks, I guess. For the ride, talking to me. Everything," she said, opening the door and getting out. "You're pretty cool when you're not acting like a nub."

"Gee, thanks," Gibby said with a laugh. "You're pretty cool when you're not beating me."

"I think this is the longest amount of time we've spent together without me hitting you," Sam commented, and Gibby nodded.

"I noticed too," he said. "Have a good night, Sam. Don't be too hard on Carly. She just wants you to be happy."

"I know. Thanks Gibs," Sam replied with one last wave, before turning and walking into Bushwell, heading for the elevator. She was going to take it easy on Carly, like she told Gibby she would, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to let Carly know that it was totally out-of-line. As much as Sam hated it, she and Freddie were over.

She stepped onto the elevator, heaving a deep sigh as she leaned against the wall. Looking down, she frowned when she noticed her blouse was ripped. Bastard. Did Anthony not realize that she had to shoplift this, because she couldn't afford nice clothes and she'd been making an effort to look all girly and cute for him? She'd almost gotten caught by the security guard over THIS shirt, and now it was ripped. Ugh, this kid was so NOT worth the effort.

Sam had tried to be the girl Anthony wanted her to be. Sam had been through a lot over the course of her life, including an absent father and a neglectful mother. It had made her tough, but despite that toughness, deep down all Sam really wanted was to be loved. She'd thought that she had it with Freddie, until all those issues started coming up about them being too different. It had hurt her more than she was willing to admit, even to herself. And then Anthony had come along, and in her desperation to be loved, she didn't even stop to think whether or not he was worth it. He wasn't.

Another thought occurred to Sam. What if Anthony WAS worth it, and she was the one being difficult in the relationship? What if the problem was still her?

"You just keep screwing up, Puckett," she said softly, shaking her head. "Chasing away two boyfriends in less than a month and a half? Impressive."

God, why was she so bad at this? Why did she keep screwing everything up? Was she completely unlovable? What was wrong with her?

Sam tried to be strong, but for once, it wasn't working, and a tear trickled down her cheek, leaving a trail of bare skin where her heavy makeup had been. She looked like a doll. She'd had to, for Anthony to go out with her, because who she was wasn't good enough. She'd only be good enough if she played a part, and that still hadn't worked.

Another tear followed the first, then another, then another, until Sam was full-on crying. But this time, she wasn't crying over Freddie. And she certainly wasn't crying over Anthony, at least not directly. All Sam could think about was how screwed up she was, how she wasn't good enough for anyone, and she couldn't stop thinking it. And she couldn't stop crying, not even as the elevator doors opened. She tried to stop as she walked down the hallway toward Carly's apartment, but it wasn't happening.

_God, I better stop this before she opens the door_, Sam thought morosely as she tried to will herself into not crying. At least it was silent, she wasn't sobbing or guffawing or anything lame like that. But still, it had to stop, and now. Before she knocked.

As she stood there, waiting for her tears to stop before she knocked on Carly's door, she was unaware that Freddie had come up the stairs and right around the corner. She was so lost in trying to stop her tears she didn't even notice him standing there.

"Uh, hey..." he said awkwardly, startling Sam and causing her to jump in alarm.

"Shit, Benson! You scared me!"

"Geez, sorry," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Guess that's what I get for being nice – whoa." He stopped talking as his eyes fixated on Sam's tearstained face. "Are you crying, Sam?"

"No," she grumbled, turning her back on him. "Go away."

"What's wrong?" Freddie asked. "Did they stop making Fat Cakes or something?"

"Go away!" she shrieked, turning around to slap him on the chest. She'd meant for it to hurt, and it did, but the simple touch sent a spark shooting through Freddie that he desperately tried to ignore.

"Sam, please talk to me," he said.

"Did you just get back from a date with Wendy?" Sam snapped, and Freddie shrugged.

"Yeah. So what if I did? You obviously went on a date with Anthony...you're in your Barbie doll garb again."

At that statement, Sam just let out a sob, banging on Carly's door loudly.

_Okay, obviously that was a poor choice of words,_ Freddie thought to himself, and yet, he was a little scared too. What was up with her? Sam didn't cry very often, something was clearly wrong. And as much as he was still upset with her, he didn't like seeing her hurt. He leaned against the wall next to her casually, his head leaning back.

"You used to talk to me," he commented.

"CARLY!" Sam yelled, banging on the door. "Open up!"

"Ever think maybe she's not home? Maybe she's on a date too."

"Please," Sam sneered. "Brad hasn't grown any balls yet."

Freddie had to laugh at that, Sam was absolutely right about that. He wondered if Brad ever would man up and ask Carly out, but as it were, Freddie was in no position to say anything. He was dating a girl he didn't love and unable to tell the girl he did love that he wanted her back!

"Come on," Freddie begged. "Don't you think we need to talk anyway? After what happened today?"

"I don't think your girlfriend would like us talking," Sam sneered, and Freddie shrugged.

"She doesn't control me, Sam."

Sam snorted, shaking her head. "Please, after watching you two today...it's pretty obvious who wears the pants in that relationship."

"Sounds familiar," Freddie said pointedly, and Sam scowled.

"We are not talking about...that."

"No, we're not," Freddie agreed. _Because I so can't handle that._ "But we need to talk about how we're going to get through this play. So I don't get suspended and you don't get permanently kicked out."

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with no," Sam responded, banging on Carly's door again. "CARLY!"

Freddie stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do, before suddenly grabbing Sam's arm and dragging her toward his apartment.

"Benson! Let me go! I will rip your arm off and beat you to death with it!"

"Yeah, you can do that after we talk," he responded as he pulled the door open and dragged her inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

She glared at him, smoke practically coming out of her ears. She did not want to be in Freddie's apartment with him, dressed like this, hair and face a mess!

_But hey, at least I've stopped crying._

"What makes you think I won't just walk out the door, Fredweird?"

"This," he responded, turning around and locking it, resulting in Sam giving him a horrified look.

"It deadbolts from the inside?" she exclaimed. "What is wrong with your mother?"

"Nobody knows," he responded with a shrug. "Now, since you're here..."

"No dice, Benson. Give me the key."

"Nope."

"Give it to me!"

"I'll unlock the door after we talk," he responded. "I'm not getting suspended because we can't act like adults, Sam. So, that being said..." he gave her a smart look as he put the key in the once place he knew she wouldn't go near, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"You're lecturing me about acting like adults and you just put your house key in your crotch."

"You wanna try to get it now, be my guest, but I gotta say, after watching you and my girlfriend almost come to blows in rehearsals today, it'd be a bad idea."

"You wish," Sam hissed. "I'm not going anywhere near there."

_Unfortunately,_ Freddie thought with a roll of his eyes. Sam looked around the apartment nervously, the fact that they were alone beginning to come more apparent.

_Oh god, do NOT pounce on him_, she begged herself silently.

"Where's your mom?" she asked, and Freddie shrugged.

"Working."

"Where's T-Bo?"

"Groovie Smoothie," Freddie replied. "So you wanna tell me why you were crying?"

Sam shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Freddie responded, flopping down on the couch, and Sam sighed.

"Just...a bad date, that's all."

Freddie looked over at her, and then his gaze dropped to her shirt.

_What the hell,_ he thought. _Her shirt is ripped...and she's crying...WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?_

"Sam? Why is your shirt ripped? Why are you crying?" he asked as he scrambled to his feet. "Did something happen? Did he do something to you? Because I swear to god, I'll..."

"Freddie, calm down," Sam replied with a roll of his eyes. "It's not what you think."

_My god, is he being...protective? What is going on?_

"Then what?"

"He's very...handsy. Sometimes moreso than others. He wouldn't take no for answer, so I shoved him off me, got out of the car, he left me there...at that makeout spot...you know the one."

Freddie nodded, looking at the ground so Sam wouldn't see that his face was red. He definitely knew the spot. He'd never been there with Wendy, but on the rare occasions his mother had let him use the car, he'd gone there with Sam. Things never went really far, but he definitely had some good memories stored up from that place, and his blood boiled just thinking Sam had went there with another guy. Luckily, it was pretty obvious nothing happened, but still...he hated seeing her so upset.

"Yeah, I know the one," he said. "So...he just left you there?"

"Yeah...I started walking back."

"Why didn't you call me?" Freddie snapped, and Sam gave him a surprised look.

"Uh, cuz...you know...we're not...cool. Anymore," Sam responded. _And I really hate that._ "But it's all good, because as I was walking down the road, of all people in the world, Gibby showed up."

"Well, I'm glad for that, but something really bad could have happened to you!" Freddie cried. "Look, Sam...I know things are really messed up right now. Really, really messed up. But I don't want you to get hurt."

Sam nodded, biting her nails as she considered Freddie's words. "I hate that things are different now."

"So do I," Freddie replied softly. What does she mean by that? Does she mean what I think she means?

"You're right that we do have to get through the play. And the show's starting to become awkward," Sam commented. "Can we just...act like nothing happened?"

That wasn't what Sam wanted. She didn't want to act like nothing happened between them. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, kiss him, pick up where they left off. But it couldn't happen. He had Wendy now. But did she really want to go through the rest of the year being at odds with him? It was stupid! They used to be friends! Despite the fact that she was still in love with him, she missed having him as a friend. And it'd be better having a part of him than nothing at all.

"You mean...just be friends?" Freddie summed up, and Sam nodded.

_No, no, no! I don't want to just be your friend, Sam! I want you back!_

Freddie took a deep breath, trying to chase the thoughts away. Sam didn't want him back, even if she and Anthony were over. And he couldn't just dump Wendy, just like that. It wouldn't be right, and he'd already screwed up enough in that department. He still felt like a dick for telling her he loved her when he didn't mean it, but he didn't know how to rectify it, other than try to force himself to feel something he didn't really feel.

"Yeah...we can be...friends," Freddie said finally. _Even though I don't want that. I just want you. All of you._

But part of Sam was better than none of Sam, so he'd have to be happy with what he got.

"Okay," Sam said with a nod. "We'll be friends." She paused, toying with her hair. "I'm sorry I said all that stuff to you. And got you in trouble."

"Sorry I dumped chili on your hair," Freddie said with a shrug, and Sam nodded. "And...I'm really, really sorry for calling you a slut. That was so incredibly out of line, and I feel like an ass for it."

"Yeah..." Sam said softly.

"And it's not true," Freddie replied. "I mean, you know that, but...what's more important is...I know that. You're not that kind of girl."

"I don't know what kind of girl I am," Sam said with a shrug.

"I do," Freddie replied, and Sam's eyes skidded over to him.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do," Freddie said with a fervent nod. "You're the kind of girl who's too good for that asshole. Sam...you...you can't be with him. I'm telling you that as a friend. He doesn't treat you the right way. He just...acts like you're eyecandy, and you're more than that."

"I'm done with him," Sam responded quietly, and Freddie nodded.

"If he's as pushy as you say...then I hope so, because next time, he may not take no for an answer...and then I'd have to kill him."

Sam laughed, shaking her head. "Trust me, it's a thing of the past. And I think you're forgetting, I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, I know," Freddie replied with a roll of his eyes. "I just worry about you, Sam."

"Really?" Sam asked, and Freddie nodded.

"Absolutely. I mean...I still care about you," Freddie responded, before his eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said. "As a friend," he added quickly, and Sam nodded.

"Thanks," she said softly. Almost without thinking, she reached out, hugging him. It started off as a simple, chaste hug, and neither were sure who made the first move, but Sam suddenly found herself pressed against him, his strong arms around her waist as he held her close. She hugged him tighter, resting her head on his muscular shoulder, inhaling his scent. He still wore that same cologne, and it drove her crazy. It felt so good to be in his arms again. She tried to steady herself, but she knew she was positively shaking.

Freddie could feel his heart thundering away in his chest as Sam arms were wrapped around him, and he prayed she wouldn't be able to tell. He couldn't stop himself from burying his face in her hair. It smelled like that apple shampoo she used. She still smelled the same. She still felt the same. He felt so incredibly at peace in her arms, but at the same time, uneasy, slightly terrified. He didn't want it to end, but he knew it would. It had to. They were just friends now. This was a friendly hug.

It sure didn't feel like a friendly hug to him though! Not with the way she pressed against him, like he couldn't be close enough. It was official, he was really going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.

_I really need to pull away,_ Sam thought. _Before he starts thinking I'm still into him or something. Oh, wait. I am. I can NOT pull away._

_You were just on a date with your girlfriend, Sam was practically molested, and you two are finally cool again_, Freddie scolded himself. _Pull away! Do not screw this up!_

They both pulled away at the same time, staring at each other. Freddie's hands were still on Sam's waist, and Sam's arms still rested on Freddie's shoulders. They were just inches apart. If either one of them moved any closer...

"Sam..." Freddie started. "I..." But words had become worthless. With her, they always had been. She could say one thing, and mean something entirely different. Or she could say nothing, and Freddie still knew what she was thinking. In spite of everything that had happened, that hadn't changed. He could still read her like a book.

"Freddie..." Sam breathed, biting her lip.

_Oh god, he has a girlfriend! What are you doing? Do not kiss him! Do not kiss him! Do not..._

_Screw it. He was mine first,_ she thought, and with that, she moved to kiss him. Freddie saw it coming, and he seemed to go on autopilot, his eyes fluttering shut in anticipation of the one thing he'd been longing for for months.

_Kiss me, you crazy blonde demon,_ he thought.

But before Sam could hit her mark, the front door opened.

"Fredd-ay!"

Startled, Sam and Freddie practically leapt apart from each other, looking guilty.

"Hey T-Bo," Freddie grunted. He didn't know whether to be angry that T-Bo had interrupted them, or relieved that he'd narrowly avoided cheating on his girlfriend. As much as he loved Sam, and longed for her, that wasn't a road he was prepared to go down. Cheating was just a horrible thing, and it was bad enough he was having feelings for another girl, he wasn't about to make it worse!

"What's going on, man?" T-Bo asked as he shoved his keys into his pocket. "Everything alright? I...oh. Ohhh." T-Bo glimpsed at Sam, and it was obvious what he was thinking, especially with the state of Sam's disheveled shirt and hair.

"I thought you were dating that Wendy chick," T-Bo commented, and Freddie's eyes squeezed shut in pure mortification.

"I am."

"Then what...oh. Ohhhh," T-Bo said with a grin. "Man, you a little pimp!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Sam muttered, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

"No, Sam...you don't have to leave..." Freddie said, grabbing her arm, and she shook her head.

"Probably best if I do," she replied. "I still need to talk to Carly."

"Yeah," Freddie said softly. "Well...I'll see you Monday?"

"Sure," she replied. "I uh...I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "Have a good night."

"I'll try," she said. "You too."

"Yep," he replied as he opened the door for her. "Goodnight."

"Bye."

She walked across the hall, and Freddie shut the door behind her, sighing and leaning against it.

"Oh god, what am I doing?" he groaned, covering his face with his hands. "I almost kissed her."

"I never would have pegged you for the type, little dude, but you are, man! You're a playa!"

"I am not!" he replied. "She was upset, I was just talking to her, and...things just kinda...oh god."

"What part of getting over an old girlfriend by getting under a new one did you not get, man?" T-Bo replied. "Maybe you need a different girlfriend, cuz the one you got now obviously ain't doing her job."

"Wendy's fine," Freddie grumbled. "She's sweet. And cute. And...shrill."

"Shrill?" T-Bo asked, confused, and Freddie shrugged.

"I dunno, she was really...nice...and then...now she wants me to spend ALL my time with her, and if I can't...she yells."

"Probably has something to do with you still being gone over Lil' Puckett."

"What?" Freddie snapped. "I'm not gone over her! I...I love Wendy."

"Right," T-Bo said with a roll of his eyes. "And I'm the mayor of Seattle."

"I'm serious!" Freddie responded. "I love her! She's my girlfriend!"

"Doesn't mean you love her, and no matter how many times you say it, it won't make it come true. You either feel it, or you don't. You know how I know that?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me," Freddie said with a roll of his eyes.

"Because of the way you had Lil' Puckett held. Man doesn't hold a girl like that he just wants to get freaky with. Man doesn't look a girl like that who he just thinks is fun. You're still in love with that girl."

"I am not in love with Sam!" Freddie yelled. "I'm getting really tired of everyone saying that!"

"Whatever, man. It's obvious. And it's probably obvious to your girlfriend too. That's probably why she be trippin' and yelling at you."

"You think that's it?" Freddie asked. "So...if I act like I'm in love with her...I mean..show her. Show her I'm in love with her, maybe she'll stop acting the way she's acting?"

"It's worth a shot. Or you could just keep being a pimp. Personally, I think you should stick with being a pimp. Bet lil Miss Carly across the hall would bite too."

Freddie rolled his eyes, heading in the direction of his bedroom. "This conversation is over."

"Stay pimpin', little man!"

"I am not a pimp!"

**OoOoOoOoOo**

"Will you open the door already?" Sam cried into the phone. "Carly! These shoes are killing me!"

"Hold on, Sam...I'll be right there," Carly responded as she headed down the stairs, phone pressed against her ear. "You're more agitated than usual tonight."

"You'll see why in a minute," Sam replied, and with that, hung up. Carly sighed, walking over to the front door and pulling it open.

"Hi!" she said. "What's...oh. Sam, what happened to your shirt?"

"It's over with Anthony," she replied as she walked in, flopping down on the couch.

"He did that?" Carly exclaimed. "Oh my god!"

"It's fine, Carly," Sam replied, sounding exhausted. "Except he bailed on me in the middle of Makeout Pointe. I had to walk back."

"But that's like twenty miles!" Carly replied, horrified. "How did..."

"Gibby was driving by, picked me up."

"Wow," Carly sighed, shaking her head. "You really lucked out, you know that?"

"Uh-huh," Sam said with a nod. "But..after that, and before this...I talked to Freddie."

"You did?" Carly asked, sounding hopeful. "Wait...you didn't hit him, did you?"

"Worse," Sam groaned.

"Oh god, you killed him?" Carly cried.

"Carly! No! I almost kissed him!" Sam groaned, falling face first into the couch. "We were talking...and we were going to be just friends again...and then we hugged. And we would have kissed if T-Bo hadn't walked in."

"Oh, wow," Carly said, not sure what to say. On the inside though, she wanted to burst with happiness.

They're so getting back together, she thought. It's only a matter of time!

"Carly!" Sam whined, kicking her legs. "He has a girlfriend! That would make me the other woman! Like it's not bad enough I steal stuff, and I've gone to juvey, now I'm a mistress!"

"I think you're just being dramatic, Sam..." Carly said.

"I'm the anti-christ!"

"Okay, now I know you're being dramatic," Carly replied with a roll of her eyes, sitting down next to her. "Sit up, Sam."

"No. Leave me alone to die."

"Dead girls don't get pizza."

"Pizza?" Sam asked, sitting up quickly. "Why didn't you say so?"

Carly rolled her eyes again and laughed, before focusing back on the original subject. Sam and Freddie. So close, yet so far. How could she move it along?

"Look, just because he has a girlfriend, it doesn't really mean that..."

"Carly," Sam said flatly, giving her a look, and Carly just gave her one of her 'I'm completely innocent and harmless' expressions.

"What?"

"I know what you're trying to do. And I want you to listen to me. Freddie and I are not going to get back together. Do you understand?"

_Ugh, it hurts to say it out loud,_ Sam thought. _Freddie and I really aren't going to get back together. We're just going to be friends. God, this sucks._

"I'm not trying to do anything," Carly replied quietly, and Sam glared at her.

"I know about your epic plan for the Seddie Reunion Tour, and it's not happening. Carly, you gotta stop worrying about me, and start worrying about your own love life, okay?"

"I don't have a love life," Carly said softly. "And I just want you to be happy. Both of you."

"I think Freddie's pretty happy with Wendy," Sam said with a roll of her eyes, and Carly shook her head.

"He doesn't look at her the way he looked at you. I know you guys are meant to be together!"

"Look, I've done a lot of really bad stuff, but one thing I haven't done, and I'm not going to do, is steal a guy away from another girl! That's horrible!"

"Wait, so...you and Wendy are cool now?" Carly asked, confused, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Uh, no. I'm going to destroy her."

"So...your ex-bullying target turned former friend turned ex-boyfriend turned sworn enemy and you are cool."

"Uh-huh. We're...friends."

"But your friend turned ex-boyfriend's girlfriend?"

"Hate her guts. She's going down," Sam replied.

"And you think Freddie's happy with Wendy and cares about her."

"Obviously!"

"But you don't think he'll be upset if you mess with her?"

"I dunno," Sam said with a shrug. "I beat the crap out of Gibby all the time and you guys still talk to me."

"I have the strangest best friend in the world," Carly commented to herself, before turning back to Sam. "Are you sure you're okay? The whole Anthony thing?"

"I'll get over it," Sam replied with a wave of her hand. "So...pizza?"

"Yeah, I'll order it," Carly replied, reaching for her phone.

"Can I sleep over? Borrow some pajamas?"

"Sure."

"K," Sam said, standing up. "I'm gonna go change. Hey, by the way, have you cleaned the cabinet under your bathroom sink out lately?"

"No...why?" Carly asked, confused.

"No reason," Sam said flatly, before turning and running up the stairs.

"Sam! Are you hiding Fat Cakes in my bathroom again?" Carly yelled. "I'm ordering pizza!"

"So?" Sam hollered.

"Fat Cakes are NOT appetizers!"

"Yeah, maybe in your world," Sam responded as she turned on the steps to look at her. "Get extra bacon on the pizza, okay?"

"Sure thing," Carly responded, exasperated.

Sam headed up the stairs to Carly's room, grabbing a pair of pajama pants and changing into them. She was still pretty irritated at the idea of Carly trying to get her and Freddie back together, but she couldn't be too angry. After all, Carly just wanted her to be happy.

Still, Sam thought as she looked at her phone. Didn't mean she couldn't turn the tables. She grabbed her phone, firing off a quick text.

'Wanna run lines tomorrow at Carly's?'

Brad: Yeah, sure. Am I going to be expected to stand-in as Romeo again? Because it could really affect my performance as Mercutio.

Sam rolled her eyes, texting him back.

'It's a school play, numnuts. And...maybe Freddie will join us.'

Brad: HUH? When did my entire world change? What's going on? Did he man up?

_What does that mean_, Sam thought. _Man up?_

'We talked. We're cool. Friendsss. Are you in or out?'

Brad: Any time I get to spend around Carly, I'm down.

'Maybe we can get you guys a little quality time.'

Brad: Don't start that shit, Sam. I hear enough from Carly about set-ups. I don't wanna play.

'Yeah, because you're doing such a good job getting her on your own.'

Brad: I don't like you right now. But I'll be there. Peace, homie.

'Text you tomorrow.'

With that, Sam put her phone back down, satisfied, but at the same time, not. She couldn't get the way it felt being in Freddie's arms again out of her head. The way he smelled. They were so close...but this was definitely better. Sam felt pretty lost about the whole issue with Freddie, and with Anthony for that matter too. What was it about guys that made her so insecure? It wasn't a good feeling, and she didn't know how to control it.

_Maybe I just need to focus on myself for awhile, less on guys,_ Sam thought. _It just leads to bad things. I can survive without love, right? I've done it for a long time, shouldn't be too hard to do it again._

Except it would be hard. Just thinking about Freddie, and not being able to be with him, that was hard. But she'd just have to grit her teeth, and get through it.

It was her only option if she wanted to maintain her sanity, and that was just about the only thing she had left.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: A little shorter than my usual chapters, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things after a LONG hiatus from this fic. I plan to wrap up it up in about 5 more chapters or less, it's not going to be a marathon story like The Ballad series. Speaking of which, I'll be starting on that AFTER I finish this one. Hope you guys like the chapter! :D

Chapter 9

_I can't believe I got talked into this_, Freddie thought grimly as he paced back and forth in the iCarly studio.

It wasn't that he was opposed to being around Sam, not since they finally buried the hatchet, but he preferred reciting the Bard's most famous tale of love gone awry when absolutely necessary in her presence. Still, Carly had begged him. Freddie figured she probably had some crazy scheme in her head to get the two of them back together, but she'd have her work cut out for her, what with Wendy sitting on one of the stools the entire time. She alternated between giving Sam death glares and looking at Freddie with all the love and devotion of...

_Of a total looney._

That's what Wendy was turning into, a total looney. He'd thought Wendy would be a safe choice, a rebound, someone to help him get over Sam. What she turned into was Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde. She was clingy, untrusting...it was as if she KNEW.

If Wendy knew Freddie still harbored feelings for Sam, how many other people knew? Brad? Gibby? Carly? Sam herself? Freddie suddenly felt like the room was growing smaller.

"Freddie?" Gibby waved a hand in front of his face. "Dude...are you still with us?"

"Huh?" Freddie snapped out of his trance and looked up at Gibby. "Sorry. Where were we?"

"I don't understand how you're having trouble with this first act, Freddie," Carly spoke up. "I mean, it's actually the least complicated passage in the whole thing...just Romeo whining about how he'll never get over Rosalind."

Wendy and Sam exchanged terse glances, which Freddie chose to ignore, looking back down at the script.

"She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste. For beauty starved with her severity cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, to merit bliss by making me despair: She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow do I live dead that live to tell it now," Freddie recited.

_Do not look at Sam. Do not look at Sam. Do NOT look at Sam._

"Be ruled by me, forget to think of her!" Gibby, in character as Benvolio, exclaimed.

"Teach me how I should forget to think!" Freddie shot back.

"By giving liberty unto thine eyes! Examine other beauties!"

"'Tis the way to call hers exquisite, in question more...these happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows being black put us in mind they hide the fair; he that is strucken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost. Show me a mistress that is passing fair! What doth her beauty serve, but as a note where I may read who pass'd that passing fair? Farewell; thou canst not teach me to forget."

_He's taunting me from the grave,_ Freddie thought bitterly.

Try as he might, he couldn't help but keep glancing over to where Sam sat, next to Brad. The two of them were constantly whispering while they were waiting for their turns to read. Every now and then Brad would not-so-stealthily check Carly out, only to be rewarded by a sharp ribbing from Sam. She looked absolutely gorgeous today, wearing a bright yellow v-neck and tight fitting jeans. The shirt was so low-cut it was almost mean. Freddie literally caught himself over and over checking her out. He was pretty sure Wendy was aware of it too.

Brad was having a pretty difficult time paying attention to his script too. Why had Carly decided to wear a skirt today? He couldn't stop staring at her long, shapely legs. If he didn't know better, he'd say Carly was doing it on purpose, but she'd have to be aware of his feelings for her to do that.

"Ow!" Brad hollered, glaring at Sam as she threw another elbow into his ribcage. "Enough!"

"Wuss," Sam grunted under her breath.

"Do you have to be mean to EVERYONE?" Wendy blurted out, glaring at Sam.

"Dear God," Carly muttered, her hand going into her hands.

Sam gave Wendy a look as if she were an annoying bug.

"Butt out, buttercup," she replied. "This is none of your business. In fact, why are you even here?"

"Freddie asked me to come," Wendy said haughtily, crossing her arms over her chest.

That wasn't exactly true. Wendy had begged to come, then pouted until Freddie had conceded. In Wendy's mind, she had to keep a close eye on her boyfriend, keep him far away from Sam.

She'd definitely be right. If they were left alone in a room together and Sam was game, Freddie would've been all over her in a second, girlfriend or no girlfriend. He definitely didn't want to cheat, but Freddie had a feeling it would only be a matter of time.

Freddie cleared his throat. "Wendy, can we go downstairs for a minute?"

"Sure," she said, standing up and fluffing her hair. "Maybe we can use Carly's bedroom?" She let out a girlish giggle.

"No..." Freddie replied with a fervent shake of his head. He looked over at Carly, still shaking his head. "No."

"Yeah, no," Carly responded, raising an eyebrow. It was funny, Carly and Wendy had been such good friends, but after seeing the way Wendy behaved with Freddie, Carly could barely handle being in the same room as her.

Freddie led Wendy out of the room, and Carly looked at Sam, Gibby, and Brad in disbelief.

"Okay, did she just subtly ask permission to use my bedroom to hook up in?" Carly asked.

Gibby cleared his throat. "I don't think it was that subtle."

"I'm making a rule. If I'm not getting any action in this apartment, no one is," Carly responded.

Brad let out a yelp and gave Sam a growl of warning.

"Elbow me one more time," he threatened. Sam just blinked at him innocently, a vacant 'Who, Me?' expression on her face.

"Okay, I'm dying to know what's going on," Gibby said. "And since our Romeo just 86'ed himself from rehearsals, break time?"

"Stealth break time," Sam agreed.

"Definitely sounds like a good idea," Carly stated, heading for the door.

"NO!" Sam yelled, standing in front of the door. Carly regarded her as if she were nuts.

"You and Brad should stay here," she responded with a smile. "I'll go get food."

Carly shook her head. "If I let you get the food there won't be any left by the time you get back."

"No, no. Gibby will watch me. Won't you Gibs?"

"That depends on whether or not you're going to break my thumbs if I try to keep the food from you."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe a light sprain?"

"Okay," Gibby responded with a nod. Sam gave Brad and Carly a threatening look.

"Stay HERE," she stated, shutting the door behind her.

Carly shook her head, rolling her eyes and flopping down in one of the beanbags.

"Everyone is being so weird today," she commented, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah," Brad agreed. "But at least Sam and Freddie aren't fighting anymore."

"No, just Wendy and Sam," Carly responded. "God, I don't even know why he brought her."

Brad shrugged. "So Ridgeway's got a lot going on, huh? Big drama production, dance coming up in a few weeks..."

"Oh yeah, I'd completely forgotten about the dance," Carly replied absentmindedly, then shot Brad the hairy eyeball. "Thanks for reminding me. It's not like I'm going to go or anything."

Brad's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"Because no one's going to ask me," Carly explained. "Someone would have to actually LIKE me for that to happen, remember?"

Brad shook his head. "Carly, you're really nice...and...and really pretty. I'm sure there's lots of guys that like you."

"Yeah, losers," Carly scoffed, looking at the ground.

Brad bit his lip and looked down at his watch. "Wow, it's really late, I'd better get going..."

"It's not even one o'clock yet..."

"Yeah, I uh...have something to do for my grandmother. Cleaning out her gutters, you know. I'll see you later, Carly." He made such a quick exit that Carly couldn't even respond.

What was that all about?

Brad walked down the stairs so fast he wasn't looking where he was going, and nearly tripped right over Sam and Gibby, hiding out at the top of the stairs and listening to the argument between Freddie and Wendy.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" Wendy cried. "I thought you liked me!"

"I did...I mean, I DO!" Freddie responded. "I'm just not sure this is the right time, Wendy..."

"Brad!" Sam hissed, but Brad paid her no mind. He walked right down the stairs and right in between Wendy and Freddie.

"Hey!" Wendy shouted at Brad. "Rude!"

"Dude, you alright?" Freddie looked concerned, but Brad didn't even respond or turn around, just headed straight for the door, slamming it shut behind them. Freddie watched him go, but Wendy brought him back to the present before he could go after his friend.

"This is about HER, isn't it?" Wendy cried. "You're STILL not over that big chested bitch!"

Sam's eyebrows went up, and she went to gain her feet, but Gibby yanked her back down, shaking his head and putting a finger to his lips. Sam grunted softly, but did as requested, both of them continuing to peer their heads around the corner and watch.

Freddie crossed his arms over his chest. "For the record, Sam is NOT a bitch. She's my FRIEND. And this isn't about her, Wendy! It's about YOU! You're so insecure! I'm not with Sam, I'm with YOU, and it's still not good enough!"

"I am NOT insecure," Wendy shrieked. "She doesn't want you, Freddie! If she did, she'd be with you! Why can't you recognize that what you have in front of you is just as good...no, BETTER, than Sam could ever be?!"

"Because I'm not sure that is!" Freddie shot back. Wendy stared at him like a wounded puppy, and Freddie sighed, shaking his head. "There. Happy now?"

"You bastard," Wendy hissed.

The slap echoed through out the room, and Freddie raised a hand to his cheek in shock, glaring at Wendy.

"I think I made the right decision," he said gravely. "You can let yourself out, Wendy."

Wendy's chin trembled, and she let out a gasping cry, turning on her heel and rushing out of the room.

Freddie stood there for a second, rubbing his sore cheek, then lifted his head. "One of you wanna get me some ice?" he called out, obviously directed at Sam and Gibby.

"You knew we were here?" Gibby asked, rising to his feet.

"A deaf and blind person would have figured that out."

"In that case, she is SO dead!" Sam hollered, running down the stairs, only to be hemmed up by Gibby at her back, and Freddie in front of her.

"Sam, forget it!" Freddie yelled, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's done now, just let her go."

"But she hit you!"

Freddie had to chuckle at that. "Sam, how many times have you hit me over the years?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I've lost count."

"Don't worry about it, okay?" he responded. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she reached up and touched his cheek. "Freddie, it looks so bad..."

But Freddie didn't even feel the burning in his cheek anymore. All the pain immediately evaporated the second Sam touched him. Except now he was pretty sure his heart was going to stop.

Sam, on the other hand, was having trouble even breathing, at least it felt that way. She could feel his warm skin, firm jaw muscles underneath, even a tiny bit of stubble. The last time her hand had been on his face like this, she'd been kissing him passionately in the elevator. The night they broke up.

Embarrassed, she pulled away.

"Maybe I should get you that ice now," she said softly. Freddie just nodded, unable to find his voice.

_She's taking care of me? Wow, maybe I have a real shot at getting her back,_ Freddie thought. _Friendship be damned, he wanted his Sam back!_

Sam walked over to the fridge to retrieve the ice, her mind in a flurry.

_On the one hand, he broke up with Wendy, so..._

_But he JUST broke up with Wendy, idiot. You think he's gonna want to trade a pyschopath for...whatever it is YOU are?!_

_Besides, what happened to taking a break from the whole 'love' thing? And what makes you think Freddie actually WANTS you back? Oh god, I have to stop thinking about him. _

_But I love him._

Sam retrieved the ice and placed it in a towel, walking it over to Freddie.

"Here," she said softly, holding the ice to his face. They locked eyes for a second, and then they were unable to look away.

Gibby let out a low whistle, edging towards the stairs. "Welp, this is sufficiently awkward, so...yeah." He turned and ran up the stairs, leaving them alone. The sudden slam of the door brought them out of their trance, and Sam seemed embarrassed, pulling away and placing the ice in his hand.

"Just uh...keep it on there for awhile...it should be okay...I should go and find out what happened with Carly and Brad..." She edged toward the stairs. "Um...are you coming?"

"Yeah," Freddie said with a nod. "Right behind you."

Sam gave him a small smile, then turned and walked up the stairs. Freddie let out a sigh.

_If you go after her right after you've broken up with Wendy, Sam will think you're a total creep...and probably lose all respect for you. But you can't just sit there and do nothing!_

Freddie sighed as he slowly trudged up the stairs.

_I CAN'T do nothing._

_I LOVE her. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"This thing is squishing my boobs," Sam grumbled as she did her best to adjust her Juliet costume to make it more comfortable.

Next to her, Carly, who was struggling to get into her own costume, let out an undignified snort.

"Sam, a sweatshirt could squeeze your boobs," she responded.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Jealous."

"Every day of the week," Carly shot back. _Maybe if I was built more like Sam I'd have a shot at getting a decent guy. _

"Okay, I think I finally got it on," Sam stated with a huff. "Man, no wonder Juliet committed suicide. How could girls breathe in these things?!"

Carly laughed. "I think it was more about not having Romeo..."

"I think it's safe to say they overreacted," Sam grunted. "I mean, you didn't see me slitting my wrists when Freddie and I-" she cut herself off, biting her lip. "Never mind."

Carly gave her a knowing look. "You know, he and Wendy broke up..."

"Yeah..." Sam responded slowly, sounding a bit suspicious. "What's your point? He didn't break up with me FOR Wendy...he did it because...well...I'm not sure. But I think it had a lot with me to do with not being, you know, a normal girlfriend."

"Like Freddie's cornered the market on normal?" Carly shot back. "Sam, if you still have feelings for him, you should tell him."

"How?" Sam asked. "How do I do that? I mean, he had to badger it out of me on a live webcast the first time, and if you'll recall, it did NOT end well."

"Why?" Carly asked. "Because you guys broke up? Come on, Sam! Anybody can see that Freddie still cares about you. And if you're lucky enough to have someone who does, you shouldn't waste any time. Sure would be nice if I was in the same boat."

Sam rolled her big blue eyes and let out a disgusted sound.

"What?" Carly asked.

"Carly, if you opened your eyes for two seconds and looked around, you'd see that you WERE in the same boat!"

"What are you talking about?" Carly asked. Sam was about to open her mouth and tell Carly everything, about how Brad had had the hots for her ever since he came to Ridgeway, how he was too scared to tell her but everyone else could see it, and how he'd totally lost his nerve after Carly had declared any guy who liked her was a 'loser'. But before she could, a light rapping was heard on the Ridgeway dressing room the pair was currently holed up in.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, still looking at Carly.

The door creaked open, and Freddie stuck his head inside.

"Briggs is yelling like a banshee for you two to get out there and-" his voice caught in his throat when Sam turned around. It was the dress rehearsal for the play, and Sam was fully outfitted in her Juliet costume – a long red dress with a corset bodice that made all of her 'endowments' center stage. "I..."

_Oh my god, speak. Say something. Avert your eyes. Look at her face. Why aren't you talking?!_?

"I'll be right there," Sam responded, toying with her blonde hair, which was currently pulled into a long, thick braid.

"Wow, Freddie, nice tights," Carly observed playfully, and Freddie visibly blushed.

"Yeah, Gibby already tried pointing out to Ms. Briggs that the costumes were a little 'distracting'...she gave him detention for being vulgar," Freddie responded. "Anyway, so yeah...Briggs is freaking out, so if you guys are ready."

"We'll be there in a second," Sam responded. "Uh...last minute touch-ups."

Freddie nodded, still unable to take his eyes off her. In fact, he was staring at her as he shut the door, right up until it closed.

_God, you were leering at her like she was a piece of meat! _

He shook his head as he walked out toward stage.

_Not my fault though...she had everything out on display..._

With that thought, he stopped in his tracks.

_I don't want other guys looking at her like that!_

Inside the dressing room, Sam was trying to psyche herself into going out there for the final run-through.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said as she stared at herself in the mirror. "I mean, we're going to be expected to ACTUALLY kiss this time..."

"And you've kissed Freddie a LOT," Carly pointed out.

"Yeah, when we were together. But now?" Sam sighed. "Oh my god."

Carly put her hands on Sam's shoulders, steering her towards the door. "Come on, you're on, Puckett."

Sam and Carly headed out to stage, stopping in their tracks as they saw what was waiting for them.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Carly said flatly. "Where's Kelsey?"

"Mono, with the rest of them," Wendy responded. "I'm her understudy." She smoothed out the wrinkles in her Nurse costume. "Do you like my outfit?"

"You probably GAVE Kelsey mono," Sam said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sam, if I had the power to do that, I would have given YOU mono. At least that way Freddie would be onstage kissing the woman he deserves, and not you," Wendy snapped.

"How about I give you what you deserve right now?" Sam threatened, taking a step toward Wendy. Carly stepped in front of her to prevent any real fights from breaking out.

"Sam, cool it, you can't fight in that costume, you'll rip it."

"No, just her face!"

"You three calm it down and get in your places!" Briggs yelled. "The X Factor comes on in an hour and half and I better be out of here by then!"

Sam rolled her eyes, and after one last threatening glare at Wendy, walked off stage for the scene to begin. At the opposite end of the stage, she could see Freddie talking to Brad and Gibby, and gave him a little wave, which he returned.

Gibby shook his head and leaned toward Freddie. "Dude, they're STILL fighting over you, even after you dumped Wendy."

Freddie just shrugged, unsure of what to say.

"Pimp."

He flashed Gibby a confused look. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

Onstage, Carly was making her best effort to get through the scene with Wendy.

"Nurse, where's my daughter? Call her forth to me," Carly stated.

"PROJECTION, Carly!"

Carly took a deep breath and started over.

"Nurse, where's my daughter?! Call her forth to me!"

"Man, Briggs is really riding Carly hard," Freddie commented in a low voice to Brad, who just grunted at him. "Dude, what's up with you? Are you still pissed because Carly sort of called you a loser?"

"I give up on Carly," Brad responded. "I mean, it's obvious that she'll never figure out that I like her..."

"Duh!" Gibby and Freddie exclaimed.

"We told you that!" Gibby practically yelled. "Perception is NOT Carly Shay's strong suit. You're going to have to actually TELL HER."

"In black and white terms," Freddie added. "Do it tonight at the party."

Tonight, the cast was having a pre-wrap party of sorts, and Freddie was planning on having a confession of his own. He was through playing games with Sam. He wanted her back, and tonight he was going to tell her exactly how he felt. He could only hope that she'd respond well. If she turned him down, he didn't know what he'd do.

Ms. Briggs glanced at the three guys slightly off-stage talking rather loudly, and cleared her throat.

"Three stooges! Enough!" She shouted, giving them a dagger-like glare.

Freddie, Brad, and Gibby quieted down, but Gibby leaned toward Freddie to whisper to him.

"I will bite my thumb, which is a disgrace to her, if she bears it..." he muttered, quoting a line from the first act. Freddie bit his lips, trying to supress a laugh.

"Don't do that."

"The most infectious pestilence upon thee!"

"That's from Anthony and Cleopatra," Freddie pointed out.

"Oh," Gibby said flatly. "Don't break my stride, Benson."

"GIBBY!" Ms. Briggs yelled.

"Thou poisonous bunch-back'd toad!" he shouted, unable to stop himself, and Brad and Freddie nearly tackled him.

"You're going to get us all suspended!" Brad hissed in Gibby's ear as he covered his hand with his mouth.

"And that's Richard III!" Freddie added.

"Mmmphh-rrrphh-mmm!" Gibby mumbled.

"One more outburst from you three, and I swear..." Ms. Briggs grunted. "Girls, continue!"

Carly flashed her friends a dirty look, and the boys all shrugged at her as she struggled to regain her place as Lady Capulet.

"Speak briefly," she stated to Sam. "Can you like of Paris' love?"

"I'll look to like, if looking liking move," Sam responded. "But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly." She glanced back over at Freddie, who had given up on goofing around with the boys, instead watching Sam intently. She bit her lip as they stared at one another.

_I should just tell him how I feel. Tonight. _

She was vaguely aware of Carly poking her.

"Sam, act three's over!" Carly hissed in her ear. "Pay attention!"

Sam snapped out of her trance, glancing over at her best friend. "Right, sorry. Let's go..."

Another glance at Freddie.

_God, I'm going to have to kiss him._

Freddie, Brad, and Gibby were trying to prepare for the next act, taking their places, when Freddie felt Sam staring at him. It was weird to say, but it was definitely as if he could feel her eyes on him, or when she was near...

_Oh my god, I'm going to have to kiss her. _

_Maybe Shakespeare wasn't SUCH a bad guy after all..._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sam and Freddie stood across from one another as they waited for the actor who played Tybalt to finish his monologue. Sam looked at the ground awkwardly, trying to put herself into a more 'zen' state of mind.

They'd gone over this scene many, many times before, but this was going to be the first time they'd actually have to KISS for real.

_Oh god, I am so nervous_, she thought. _Don't screw this up, Puckett_.

Freddie was praying a silent prayer of his own that he'd be able to pull this off, not only pull it off, but try to retain some sort of smooth demeanor. How he handled dealing with Sam onstage would no doubt carry itself into the rest of the night. If he proved too sloppy onstage, it might make Sam think twice about taking him back.

_Here goes nothing_, he thought to himself.

Freddie reached forward and took Sam's hand in his, staring into her eyes with such intensity that it made Sam feel a little weak-kneed; like his deep chocolate brown eyes could see right into her soul.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." With that, he lifted her hand to his mouth, pressing his lips gently against her soft skin. Sam closed her eyes for a second, then, remembering where she was, jerked her hand away.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong, your hand too much! What mannerly devotion shows in this? For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss," she chided him playfully, taking a step back.

Freddie countered with a step toward her, his hands going to her waist to pull her to him slightly.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" he responded.

Carly and Gibby glanced at each other, their eyebrows lifting up in surprise. They hadn't behaved like that onstage before...were they flirting?

"Aye, lips that they must use in prayer!" Sam shot back, pushing him away. She turned to walk away, but Freddie darted in front of her, cutting off her path.

Carly nudged Gibby excitedly. They WERE flirting! This was incredible!

"Oh, then dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

Sam was unable to stop the smile on her face, and bit her lip, looking at the ground and then coyly back up at him.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayer's sake."

"Then move not, while thy prayer's effect I take," Freddie responded as he slid an arm around Sam waist, pulling her to him and pressing his lips against hers fervently. Sam gasped, her eyebrows lifting in surprise as she gripped Freddie's shoulders tightly. If he hadn't been holding her up she would have fallen to the floor.

She tasted just as sweet as he remembered, lips as soft as they had always been. Freddie's heart thundered away in his chest as their lips moved together; no longer Romeo and Juliet, they were Sam and Freddie again. Why had he ever let this girl go?

"Madam, your mother craves a word with you!"

Freddie and Sam pulled apart, at Wendy's outburst, and anyone could see that Sam wanted to slaughter her. Carly and Gibby grunted, glaring at Wendy. She was spoiling everything! Carly pointed at her accusingly.

"She came in too early!" she shouted at Ms. Briggs.

Ms. Briggs shook her head, her hands at her temples as if she had a splitting headache. "Yes, thank you Carly. Wendy, back to your place. Benson, Puckett, start over."

Freddie glanced at Sam, who looked a little uncertain, and he took her hand, leading her back to their starting marks.

"No problem there," he responded, and lifted her hand up again.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand..."

oOoOoOoOoOo

"My ribcage is actually ACHING from that corset," Sam complained as she, Freddie, Gibby, and Carly walked through the hallway of Bushwell Plaza. Dress rehearsal was finally over, and everyone had exactly two hours before the pre-wrap party at Luke's, who played Tybalt, house. Luke was one of the richest kids at Ridgeway and lived in a HUGE house on the edge of town, and everyone was really excited about a party at such a huge, amazing house.

"I know what you mean," Carly responded as she rubbed her sore middle. "I don't see how women back then did it. Too bad though, it actually made me look I had boobs."

"My outfit made me look like I had boobs," Gibby complained.

"That's because you have man-boobs," Sam shot back, not missing a beat.

"Carly!" Gibby whined.

"Sam," Carly said, giving her a look. "Don't tease Gibby about his man-boobs."

"You guys are so mean!" Gibby responded. "I better go though, gotta get ready for the party. I'll see you guys there?"

Carly nodded. "Definitely. Hey, is Brad coming? He took off pretty quickly after practice..."

Gibby tossed a worried look in Freddie's direction. "Uh, yeah...he's fine. He'll be there. I'll see you guys later!" With that, Gibby took off, leaving Carly, Sam, and Freddie standing in the hallway between Carly and Freddie's apartments.

"Well, we'd better go get ready," Sam said awkwardly to Freddie, who nodded.

"Yeah, I definitely need to hop in the shower," he agreed.

_Oh god, do NOT think about him showering_, Sam thought with a grimace.

"So you were really good today," Freddie said to Sam, playing with the strap on his backpack. "Really good. I think we actually have a shot of making this thing work tomorrow."

"Me too," she replied softly.

"I'll just...be inside," Carly said with a knowing smile, excusing herself as she unlocked her apartment door.

"I should go with Carly," Sam said as she turned to walk inside. Freddie grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"Sam, wait," Freddie said, still holding onto her arm.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Um...do you wanna go with me to the party?" he asked. "Like, as my date?"

Sam stared at him for a second, her mind running a mile a minute.

_Oh my god. He's asking me out. Oh my god. _

_Finally._

_Yes! Yes! Yes!_

Sam shook her head quickly, trying to make sense of things.

_Be cool, Puckett._

"Uh, yeah, that'd be cool," she said finally. "I'd love to."

_Oh my god. She said yes,_ Freddie thought excitedly.

"Great," he managed to stammer. "Well, I uh...I'll see you in a few hours."

He wanted to kiss her so, so badly, but he held back, wanting to play it cool. If he played his cards right tonight, there'd be time for that later...

With one last smile, he unlocked the door to his own apartment and disappeared inside, leaving Sam in the hallway by herself. Sam stood there for a minute in shock, and then leaned against the wall, letting out a happy sigh.

_I'm this close to getting him back._

_God bless Shakespeare._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated sooner, I just started a new job and I've been working a LOT! Anyway, I'd said before this was going to be a much shorter piece than the Ballad series, and I'm keeping to my word. There's gonna be one, maybe two more chapters of this. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

"Sam, you are going to have to calm down," Carly warned her best friend as she did her best to tame Sam's unruly mane of blonde barrel curls. "I'm gonna burn your hair off if you don't!"

"I'm sorry..." Sam responded through gritted teeth, staring at her reflection in Carly's enormous vanity mirror. "I'm just so nervous."

"Sam," Carly said flatly. "It's FREDDIE."

"I know!" she whined. "That's why I'm nervous!"

Sam had been completely caught off-guard by Freddie suddenly asking her to be his date to the cast pre-wrap party that night, not expecting him to ask her out so quickly after he and Wendy had broken up. She hadn't expected him to completely embody the role of Romeo in rehearsal either, adopting a swagger onstage that Freddie Benson had never shown before. Of course, Sam seemed to be falling into her role of Juliet, coy and flirty, pretty effortlessly herself. What was supposed to have been a horrible punishment turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It was funny how life worked out that way sometimes.

Except now she was behaving a little too much like Juliet, or too much like a girl in general. Here she, sat at Carly's vanity, employing her best friend to bring some law and order to her hair while she peered at her makeup critically.

"It's too much," she declared as she stared at her reflection. Carly shook her head, unpinning another section of Sam's hair to continue flat iron it.

"Sometimes, when you want to make an impression, you have to go to extremes."

"Oh, this is definitely extreme," Sam responded as she tried her best to smudge away some of her thick eyeliner. "I feel like I'm trying to look like a Playboy bunny or something."

"Well, you're pulling it off," Carly replied. "I mean..." she trailed off, staring at Sam.

"Are you checking me out?!" Sam snapped, giving her a strange look. Carly put her hands on her hips, giving Sam a Look of her own.

"Thought the corset hurt your ribcage."

"It does," Sam replied indignantly.

"Then why are you wearing it right now?"

"I mean..." Sam shrugged, looking down at her outfit, particularly the upper half. It was obvious why. Sam was pretty bad at reading signs sometimes, particularly from boys, but it didn't take a relationship guru to get that Freddie had nearly fallen over when he'd seen her in the curve-enhancing bustier that was part and parcel of the Juliet costume. Sam had quietly stuffed it into her bag, making a mental note to wear it to the party tonight, even before Freddie had asked her to be his date. Now that they were going together, Sam pretty much owed it to herself to wear that thing.

Carly set the flat-iron down on her vanity, fluffing up Sam's hair. "There. Done."

Sam's long blonde was smooth, straight, and glossy, not a hint of a flaw or imperfection. She looked into the mirror, her jaw dropping as she took in the full product. The smoky eye makeup. The red lips. The hair. Sam was unable to do anything besides stare at herself in wonder.

"I look..."

"...beautiful," Carly finished, giving Sam's hair a final fluffing. "You asked me before what Freddie Benson ever saw in you. Well, you're looking at it right now."

Sam could barely manage a shrug, continuing to gaze at her reflection.

"I wish you saw yourself the same way the rest of us saw you, Sam. Maybe if you did, you wouldn't have tried to talk him out of being with you."

"I didn't..."

"You didn't fight for him, and that's the same thing. You just gave up. And then assumed you had to change everything about yourself. Well, you didn't. You just needed to figure out that yourself is pretty awesome," Carly responded. "I mean, Sam...look at yourself."

Carly meant every word she said, but she couldn't help but feel a little wistful, looking at herself in the mirror standing behind Sam. Being single for so long had made her feel insecure. She always felt too thin. Too girl next door. Unremarkable.

"Well, I hope you guys have fun tonight," she said softly, forcing a smile. Sam turned around in her chair, looking up at her best friend.

"Carly, what's wrong?" she asked.

Carly just shrugged. "Nothing," she responded. "I just...I'm tired of being alone, Sam." She bit her lip. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Carly!" Sam shot back, standing up. "I mean, come on, you're Carly Shay. You're gorgeous. You just...overlook certain people."

Carly shook her head. "Okay, I'm starting to think there's some big conspiracy going on that I'm not aware of. Gibby's making cryptic statements, now you. And you're always whispering with Brad...who, by the way, is treating me like a leper now! I mean, what's going on?"

Sam let out a laugh, almost accidentally, and shook her head. "Carly, I'm the blonde, remember? You can't be this naïve and clueless!"

"Again, what are you talking about?!"

"Brad LIKES you, Carly! He's had a major crush on you for literally months, and he's been too nervous to say anything. And the one time he was going to work up the courage to tell you, you pretty much declared that any guy that likes you is a loser! He lost his nerve, and now he's too ashamed to be around you!"

Carly stared at Sam, unable to come back with anything.

"No, that's..."

"The truth, Carls," Sam responded. "Brad LIKES you. And I'm not trying to insult you, because you're pretty and amazing, but it's a wonder he still does! First you tried to set him up with me, and then you made him feel like an idiot for even liking you."

"Oh my god," Carly grunted, sitting down on her futon. She stared down at her shoes, trying to collect her thoughts.

_Brad likes ME? Since when?_

"How could I have missed that?" Carly asked finally, looking up at Sam, who just shrugged.

"I'm just as confused as you are, because it's so obvious!" Sam replied.

Carly bit her lip, still thinking.

"He's cute," she stated softly.

"And nice, and polite, and has no warrants, remember?" Sam shot back, echoing what Carly had said to her the night of the school lock-in, when Sam had finally broke down and kissed Freddie. "Don't you want a nice boyfriend?!"

"You're not funny," Carly grumbled.

"There's hundreds of girls in this school, and for months, Brad has seen nothing but you," Sam responded. "That's gotta count for something, right? You should give him a chance."

"He won't go near me now," Carly complained, and Sam just made a 'meh' noise, coupled with a shrug.

"He put himself out there...or at least he tried. It's your turn now," Sam responded. "Do it tonight at the party. It's just a cast party, so at least you won't have to compete with that many other girls throwing themselves at him." She sighed. "Do you think Wendy's going to bother showing up?"

"I don't know, but like Freddie's going to notice anyone but you," Carly responded. "I mean, he was dating her, and he still noticed no one but you. I'd almost believe that he just did it to make you jealous, but that's not really Freddie's style."

"Whether it's his style or not, it worked," Sam responded. "I've never been so jealous of anyone in my entire life. Except..." she stared at her best friend.

"Me?" Carly squeaked. "Why me? I mean, I'm skinny, average looking..."

"Because he loved you and not me," Sam responded. "Always."

"But not anymore," Carly replied. "And I think in a way, he's always loved you. He just needed a push."

A knock was heard at Carly's bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

Sam's eyes widened, and she froze, looking at Carly.

"It's Freddie!" she hissed. "What do I do?"

"Just...act natural," Carly whispered back, then glared at her as Sam struck an awkward pose, her back arched and lips parted and pouty. "I said NATURAL!"

"I don't know how to be natural!" Sam responded. "Oh man..."

"Will you just relax?" Carly shot back. "It's open!" Carly called to Freddie.

The door pushed open, and in walked Freddie, outfitted in a striped polo shirt that hugged his arms and chest in a way that made Sam unable to stop staring at him.

"Hello, ladies, how's it...oh WOW," Freddie breathed as he caught sight of Sam, perched atop Carly's vanity looking like something out of one of his teenage boy fantasies.

It was just a red shirt, but that red shirt clung to every curve beautifully, accentuating the fact that Samantha Puckett was no longer a girl, she was a fully developed woman. The red of the shirt matched the red she had painted onto her full lips, her makeup flawlessly applied and adding more definition and sparkle to her big blue eyes. It was just jeans she wore, but they hugged her frame so well. Freddie envied those jeans, wishing he could be as close to that gorgeous body as those denim pants.

"You look incredible," he finally managed, unable to take his eyes off her.

Sam bit her lip, looking down at the ground and then finally forcing herself to make eye contact with him.

_God, why are his eyes so beautiful? It's almost not fair..._

"Thanks," she responded. "You look...you look nice too."

Carly watched the two staring at each other, like it was the first time they'd ever laid eyes on one another, and shook her head, a small smile on her face. They really were something together. They'd been so stupid to break up. It was just wasted time they could have been together.

How much time had Carly wasted, not giving Brad a shot? For all she knew, he could have turned out to be her prince charming, and here she was walking around deaf, dumb, and blind the entire time! Carly had never really entertained the idea of her and Brad together before, but only because she'd sort of assumed he'd been out of her league. Brad literally had no shortage of girls at Ridgeway throwing themselves at him. But he'd never really dated any of them.

_Because he liked YOU, you idiot._

Freddie finally pulled himself out of the Sam-induced trance he'd been in, sitting down on Carly's little futon.

"So I talked to Luke," he stated as he leaned back against the tiny sofa. "Apparently someone let the beans spill...it's no longer a cast party."

Carly's brow furrowed. "Meaning..."

"Meaning the entire junior and senior classes of Ridgeway are going to be in attendance," he replied. "Should be fun."

Freddie loved Sam for a lot more than how she looked, but he had to admit he was excited about showing up with her as his date, especially looking the way she looked right now. She was no arm candy, but at the same time, he wanted to show this beautiful creature off. And then win her back.

Absentmindedly, his hand went into his pocket, clutching the delicate silver bracelet he'd purchased after asking Sam to go with him to the party. He'd raced to the jewelry store at the mall, pleading with them to rush the engraving and tipping generously. He'd blown through almost all of his savings, and his new PearPad would have to wait, but it was totally worth it. Sam was totally worth it.

"I just hope it doesn't get too crazy," Sam responded. "If it gets busted up by cops I just know I'll get to spend the night in juvey again."

Freddie shook his head fervently. "I won't let that happen, don't worry." He seemed protective. It was sweet. Sam just gave him a smile.

"Okay," she responded.

"Are you guys ready?" Freddie asked, looking at both Sam and Carly. Sam nodded, but Carly put her hands on her hips.

"Quick question," she responded.

"Okay, shoot."

"Does Brad like me?"

"I'd say that qualifies as the understatement of the year," Freddie scoffed. "The guy's totally over the moon for you."

Carly nodded slowly, as if considering something, then suddenly dove for Freddie, grabbing one of her throw pillows and beating him over the head with it.

"Ow!"

"AND NONE OF YOU THOUGHT TO TELL ME?!" she cried, continuing to hit Freddie with the pillow. "I've been single for six months and you let Blue Eyes McDreamyPants walk around with a huge crush on me?! Without telling me?"

"Okay, okay, Carly, get off of him!" Sam stood up and yanked Carly off Freddie, stepping between them. "It's not his fault you're oblivious!"

"I am not oblivious!"

Sam and Freddie both gave Carly an annoyed look, and Carly sighed.

"Oh, fine," she grumbled. "Just let me fix my hair so we can go."

"Probably a good idea," Sam responded. "You look like a cave woman after pouncing on poor Freddie over here." Freddie grunted in agreement, and Carly gave them both a withering stare, turning her back to walk over to her vanity.

As Carly fussed over her hair, Freddie sat up a little, looping an arm around Sam's waist and pulling her down to him. She let out a squeal that was a little girlier than she would have liked, but she went along with it, plopping down, half onto the futon and half onto Freddie's lap.

"Hi," he said in her ear, and she laughed.

"Hi," she responded, settling down next to him so she could turn to look at him.

"I know I said it already, but you really look amazing," he said quietly in her ear. "I mean, you always do, but...yeah. I...you look great."

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Sam..." he bit his lip, glancing over at Carly. Satisfied that Carly was distracted enough trying to fix her appearance, he turned back to Sam. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," she responded. "So much..."

"Why do we keep doing this?" he asked, and Sam offered up a halfhearted shrug.

"Maybe it's easier than just admitting what...what we really feel," Sam replied, and a smile tugged at the corner of Freddie's lips.

"And what's that?"

"I'm ready," Carly declared.

Freddie sighed, his moment with Sam being interrupted, but turned to Carly, forcing a smile.

"Alright, let's head out then," he responded, then extended his arm. "After you."

Carly looked at him strangely, but grabbed her coat and purse all the same, walking out of her bedroom. Sam moved to follow, but Freddie grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as an arm went around her waist. "I can't help myself."

He'd wanted to play it cool, hold off until the end of the night to kiss her, after he'd given her the bracelet and asked her to be with him again, but she just looked so gorgeous...

Freddie pressed his lips against hers, urgently at first, but then he slowed down a bit, trying to maintain his cool as he kissed her softly. Sam's eyebrows lifted in surprise, her eyelids fluttering shut and arms going around his neck without her even realizing as their mouths moved together.

He'd kissed her at rehearsals, but this was so much better. Private. Less rushed. And they weren't acting. He really meant it. Sam wanted to literally explode with happiness. She'd never felt more at home than she had in Freddie Benson's arms.

_Why had I ever let him walk away from me?_

They finally pulled apart, their lips no longer touching but still in each other's arms as they stared at one another.

"You kiss by the book," Sam said softly, quoting one of the lines from the play.

Freddie smiled, resting his forehead against hers.

"Trespass sweetly urged, give me my sin again..."

"That's not the right order," Sam pointed out with a giggle, and Freddie shrugged.

"By my heel, I care not," he responded, kissing her again.

Carly had made it to the bottom of the staircase before she'd realized she was alone, and turned around, stalking back up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"Guys, what's the big idea-" she stopped herself as she stood in the doorway. Sam and Freddie were held tight in each other's arms, kissing like they never wanted to let go of each other. It was sweet, but it only reiterated the loneliness Carly felt in her heart.

Hopefully, she hadn't completely ruined her chances with Brad, but she would find out tonight...

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Whoa," Carly said as she followed Freddie and Sam inside of Luke's massive house. Luke was a lucky guy indeed; his parents were loaded. He lived in a classic mansion, right on the edge of the school district, and it was packed to the gills with Ridgeway High School students.

Freddie could barely get through the sea of students, and didn't want to lose Sam in all the commotion, so he took her hand, leading her through the crowd. She wanted to burst with happiness. Sam didn't know how they'd managed to go from hating each other to, well, this in a matter of weeks, but she didn't want to question it for fear of jinxing the whole thing. She just held onto his hand as he directed her through Luke's house, reaching behind her to grab Carly's sleeve and pull her along for the ride.

"I don't see Brad or Gibby anywhere," Freddie announced as he tried to see over everyone. "They said they'd be here tonight though..."

"Maybe we need to set off a flare gun or something," Sam offered, and Freddie tossed her a look.

"Don't even think about it."

"It was a joke!"

"Yeah, but the last time you got ahold of a flare gun..." he trailed off as he remembered the web convention they'd paneled at and shook his head, laughing. "You forget I know you, Sam."

"No, I definitely remember," she replied, and he just gave her a smile.

"Okay, if I were a Gibby, where would I be..." he muttered. "I'm thinking kitchen..."

"WHO WANTS TO GO IN THE HOT TUB WITH US?" Sam, Carly, and Freddie heard a group of giggling girls announce, and all of them rolled their eyes.

"I'm thinking if I were a Gibby, I'd be in the hot tub..." Sam responded. "And I don't want to see that."

Freddie made a face. "Neither do I, but just to be sure..." He led her through the main living area, past the kitchen, out to the deck. The door was open, and he stuck his head out. Sure enough, there was Gibby, surrounded by girls in Luke's massive hot tub and trying to impress all of them. Freddie shook his head, then sighed as he caught sight of someone else. He turned around to usher Sam back inside...before Carly got out here too.

"Yep, he's out there..."

"Maybe we should say hello," Carly spoke up, heading for the door, but Freddie blocked her way.

"Nah, he's busy..." Freddie responded. Sam caught the expression on his face and gave him a Look.

"What's going on out there? Don't tell me there's a bunch of naked seniors out there or something..." she stuck her head out the door and let out a disgusted noise. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"What? What's going on?" Carly desperately tried to get around Freddie, and nearly succeeded, until Sam grabbed ahold of Carly's handbag and tossed it over her head. It sailed through the air, getting lost in a crowd of people.

"Sam!" Carly cried. "What'd you do that for?"

Sam shrugged. "You know me."

"I don't understand you at all..." Carly responded with a shake of her head. "Go get my purse!"

"Uh..." Sam shot a panicked look at Freddie and suddenly ran out the back door.

"GET BACK HERE, PUCKETT!"

"Carly!" Freddie put his hands on Carly's shoulders to stop her. "Come on, I'll help you find your purse..."

"Your girlfriend's insane," Carly complained.

"She's not my girlfriend yet," Freddie responded.

"Only because you haven't asked her yet," Carly shot back, and Freddie nodded.

"Yeah, and as soon as I can get her to calm down the shenanigans..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Come on, let's find that purse."

Sam, meanwhile, made a beeline for the hot tub. Brad and Gibby were both distracted by the bevy of girls in nothing but their underwear, doing their best to all be the center of attention.

"So what was your name again?" she overheard him asking one of the girls. Sam rolled her eyes and grabbed his head, dunking him underwater. Brad came up sputtering, turning around to glare at her.

"What the hell, Sam?"

"What the hell, Brad?" she shot back. "I spent all this time talking you up to Carly, and THIS is how you repay me?"

Brad rolled his eyes. "I told you, I tried. It didn't work. I give up."

"Nope," Sam responded, and Brad glared at her.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Sam shot back. "We are not talking about some random stupid hot tub skank here," she stated, ignoring the protests from Brad's female companions. "We are talking about CARLY SHAY. My best friend. She is not the kind of girl you just give up on. Now get your scrawny ass out of that hot tub!"

"What's gotten into you tonight?" he growled. "Just because you and Freddie are back to being a happy little couple, doesn't mean-" But he didn't get to finish his sentence, because Sam dunked his head underwater again, and he sputtered, coughing up water. "Knock it off!"

"Get out of that hot tub," Sam warned, her hand going to his head.

"Okay, okay!" he yelled. "I'm out!" He scrambled out of the hot tub before Sam could dunk him again.

"Geez, Sam, meddle much?" Gibby called her out. Sam glared at him, and then looked around for clothes that were clearly 'Gibbyesque'. She spotted them, picking them up, and stared him down as she threw them over the balcony.

"Sam!"

"Get some exercise, Gibs," she responded, patting him on the back, then turned to Brad. "You'd better be in there in ten minutes confessing your love, or else."

"You know, I thought getting him back would calm you down," Brad pointed out, and Sam shrugged.

"Just do it, Brad. I just want my best friend to be happy." With that, she turned around to head back inside.

Sam had just barely made it in the doorway before she practically ran headfirst into someone.

"Watch it," she growled, and then rolled her eyes. "God, not you..."

"Samantha..." It was Anthony, from Sam's latest but short-lived failed relationship. He looked her up and down slowly, like he wanted to eat her alive, and Sam felt her skin crawl. He didn't look at her the same way Freddie did. When Freddie looked at her, it was with reverence, as if she was something to be worshipped. Anthony looked at her like an object to be used.

"Well, aren't we looking pretty tonight," he said with a smirk. Sam rolled her eyes again.

"Leave me alone, Anthony."

"You haven't been answering my calls. Been that busy with that dumb play?"

"No, I just didn't want to talk to you," she growled. "Look, I'm back with Freddie, so why don't you just buzz off?"

"The nerd?" Anthony laughed. "Come on, Samantha. Pretty thing like you can do a lot better than him."

Sam shook her head. "It doesn't get any better than Freddie Benson, and even if it did, I wouldn't want anyone else."

Anthony looked annoyed for a second, then quickly replaced it with his signature cocky sneer.

"We had a good time, you and me."

"You treated me like a doll," Sam shot back. "And I'm not going to say what kind of doll either."

"Oh, come on," he scoffed. "You know you liked it." He took a step toward her, and Sam pushed him back.

"I'm warning you, back off."

"Maybe I just need to remind you..."

"Anthony..." she warned, but she didn't get it out, because Anthony suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers harshly.

OooOoOoOo

"Found it!" Freddie crowed victoriously as he stood up, holding Carly's handbag aloft. Carly let out a sigh of relief, snatching it out of Freddie's hand.

"Thank God," she sighed, brushing it off. "I really liked this purse. Let's go find Sam."

Freddie nodded. "Okay," he responded. He was a little curious to see if she had talked some sense into Brad. Plus, he'd only been away from her for five minutes tops, and he missed her already.

Carly and Freddie made their way through the crowd toward the back door where they'd left Sam, and Freddie stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him as he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

There, a mere hour after kissing her, stood Sam, in Anthony's arms. Kissing him. Touching him. His blood boiled and his heart broke all at the same time.

Carly saw it too, and she gasped, her hand lifting to her mouth. What was going on? This didn't look right. Something was up...

Sam pulled away from Anthony as quickly as she could, prepared to break his jaw so he'd never kiss another girl again, but that's when she saw Freddie standing only a few feet away from her. Her stomach flip flopped as she caught the hurt look on his face.

"Oh my god," she said, shoving past Freddie. "Freddie!"

Before she could get to him, Freddie turned and rushed away from her, heading for the door. Sam shoved people out of the way as she tried to catch up to him.

"Freddie!"

He kept walking.

"Freddie! It's not what you think!"

Freddie made it to the door, his face red and feeling like it was burning. He felt betrayed. He felt hurt. He felt embarrassed.

_How could she do that to me?_

"FREDDIE!" Sam yelled as she ran out the door and finally caught up to him, grabbing his arm. "Freddie, stop!"

He turned around, glaring at her. "Just tell me why."

"Freddie, it's not what it looks like," Sam responded, sounding panicked. "Please."

"It's never what it looks like, is it?" Freddie responded with a bitter laugh. "So was I just a replacement for him until he decided to take you back?"

"He kissed me!" Sam shot back. "I don't want Anthony! I want you!"

Freddie was too upset to make sense of anything, to let logic kick in, any of it. All he knew was this hurt and he wanted to get away from it, fast. He pressed his lips together, staring at the ground.

"I made a mistake," he said finally, looking up at her.

Sam looked pained. "Freddie, please..."

"No," he replied. "I just got caught up...in the play, everything..."

"You don't mean that."

Freddie shook his head. His entire being hurt right now, and that hurt made him angry. It made him want to lash out. He wanted Sam to feel the same way he did. He glared at her and let out a bitter laugh.

"You're just a rebound, Sam."

Sam stared at him like a wounded puppy, shaking her head in confusion. "Freddie, please don't do this..."

"Do you not get it?" he snapped. "I don't want you, Sam!"

The words hit Sam like a truck, dumping a world full of pain and hurt onto her fragile self, and she took a few steps back from him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "You don't mean that. I told you, he kissed me...it didn't mean anything to me, Freddie! The only one I wanna kiss is you!"

Freddie shrugged. "Too bad."

"Freddie, please!"

He sighed, looking away. "I'm going home. You'll have to find another ride."

"Freddie..."

"See you at the play tomorrow night," he responded, turning to walk away from her.

As he walked towards his car, he heard the sound of footsteps, slow at first, but then they turned into a run. He suddenly felt a hard shove at his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Asshole!" Sam shrieked.

He turned around, rising to his feet.

"I'm the asshole?" he shouted. "You kiss another guy right after telling me you wanted to be with me, and I'M the asshole?!"

"No, you're the asshole because you're standing here lying to yourself!" Sam shouted. "You can't walk away from this! I'm not going to let you!"

Freddie shook his head. "I'll see you at the play."

"No..." Sam grabbed at his arm. "Freddie, please, no...don't leave."

Freddie jerked his arm away from her, reaching into his pocket and throwing something on the ground.

"Here, I bought you a present," he responded sarcastically. "See you around, Puckett."

With that, he walked away, and this time, Sam didn't try to stop him. She just watched him go, feeling herself fall apart. Something glinting on the pavement under the streetlight caught her eye, and she bent down to pick it up.

It was a silver ID bracelet. Sam had always wanted one, but she'd never had the money. How had he known...she lifted the bracelet closer to her face to read the inscription.

'I love thee,' it read.

Sam bit her lip, and in a daze just sat down in the middle of the street. Once she was safely on the ground, she began to cry.

The only thing worse than losing him once was losing him twice.

And this time, she wasn't sure if she'd get him back...


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Final chapter! This story didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to...I wanted it to be a lot more in depth and parallel Romeo & Juliet a lot more than it did, but I attribute most of it to taking such a long break from the story. Anyway, for the most part, I'm happy with the feedback I've gotten, and I hope you guys really enjoyed the story! :D**

**Chapter 12**

The backstage area of Ridgeway High School's auditorium was in absolute chaos.

Students ran this way and that, actors costumed in sixteenth century garb, stagehands carting makeup and cables and lightbulbs and a myriad of other things, frantic teachers yelling. It was a common sight the opening night of a play, but unlike the normal opening night, it lacked positive energy. Half the cast complained that 'Briggs had completely fallen off her rocker' while the other half were convinced that Freddie Benson and Sam Puckett were determined to run the entire production into the ground.

The play was nearly over, and it was not going well. The opening had been lackluster at best, with Freddie's performance as Romeo passionless and unconvincing. Gibby and Brad had seemed to sense this, and thus Benvolio was a little too merry and optimistic, while Brad's potrayal of Mercutio seemed almost maniacal and mentally unstable.

The final straw had been Romeo refusing to kiss Juliet on the lips at their initial meeting in the third act, Freddie merely placing a stoic kiss on Sam's cheek.

Sam had paused, staring at him in shock as she felt a lump form in her throat. She felt her cheeks burned as she stared into the hot stage lights, grateful that they shielded her from the embarrassment of making eye contact with any audience members.

Nothing she had done could make Freddie believe that what had happened with Anthony had been her choosing. In a way, Sam had felt violated on two accounts; Anthony, for his unwelcome touch that instantly destroyed what she was so desperately trying to put back together, and Freddie, for his refusal to believe anything she said, her intentions, her feelings.

Sam should have been angry, but she'd been so hurt that anger hadn't occurred to her yet. She'd been desperately trying to get Freddie to talk to her. Calling his phone, sending text messages, confronting him backstage. Up until the moment he'd refused to kiss her, onstage, in front of everyone. It was a humiliating moment for her, bringing every moment of rejection he'd ever given her fresh to her memory, bubbling under the surface.

Sam bit her lips to keep herself from crying onstage as she tried to steady herself.

"You kiss by...by the..."

Carly watched on from her mark, absolutely horrified. Freddie had just embarrassed the hell out of Sam, and it had shaken her so much that she'd forgotten her lines. Carly lifted a hand to her face, praying a silent prayer that Sam would recover quickly and not storm offstage in tears. If that happened, Sam wouldn't care whether she got expelled or not.

_If Sam gets expelled, I'm going to have to kill Freddie_, Carly thought to herself, suddenly angry. _How am I supposed to deal with that? I'd have to hide the body, and then I'd go to jail, and we couldn't do any episodes of iCarly from jail..._

Carly rolled her eyes at herself and her tendency to over dramatize things, forcing herself back into the present. She was absolutely mortified for her best friend. She glanced around at her fellow castmates onstage to gauge their reactions, frowning at the satisfied smirk on Wendy's face.

_Oh god, the next person Sam is going to have to speak to is Wendy. This is going to be so bad..._

Carly glanced at Wendy, then to Freddie and Sam.

_Not on my watch._

Wendy stepped forward to recite her line, and Carly practically dove in front of her, beating Wendy to the punch and grabbing Sam by the arm.

"My daughter, I crave a word with you!" she stated, pulling Sam away from Freddie.

Sam and Freddie both stared at Carly for her sudden improvisation, and a hushed murmur went through the audience.

Oh man, what do I do know?

Carly glanced to Sam for help, who just shrugged, and then at Freddie.

'What are you doing?' he mouthed.

Slap!

Freddie's hand flew to his cheek as he stared at Carly in shock. It hadn't been hard enough to hit him, but caused a considerable clapping sound, and the audience clapped joyfully, as if it was a new part of the play that the Ridgeway drama club had written in. Juliet gets pulled away from her crush by her overbearing mother. Carly decided to go with it.

"Go now boy! You shall not defile my daughter!" Carly yelled at Freddie.

Freddie just stared at her, unsure of what to do. Carly looked over at Gibby, her eyes pleading for help. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Freddie's shoulder pulling him back.

"Come Romeo, let's away. We are not among friends," he said.

Freddie looked exasperated, but let Gibby lead him offstage.

"What the hell was that?" Freddie exclaimed to Gibby, who just shrugged. "And why are you glaring at me like that?"

"You're really an ass sometimes, you know that?" Gibby shot back. "You may not give a crap about this play, but maybe I do, and I don't care how pissed you are at Sam, you do NOT embarrass her like that in front of three hundred people! Not only that, but you're going to get her expelled!"

"She kissed another guy, Gibby!"

"And that means she deserves to have her future ruined?" Gibby shot back. "Do you know what happens to girls like Sam when they don't have high school diplomas?"

Freddie stared at Gibby, unsure of what to say.

"And another thing, how do you know Anthony didn't kiss her? You forget what happened the night they broke up!"

Freddie sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Man..."

"Yeah," Gibby responded, glaring at him. "You're really an ass, and now the play's screwed up. And after what Carly just did, don't be surprised if she gets kicked out of school too."

Onstage, Carly was desperately trying to compensate for her sudden hijacking of a five hundred year old play and calm Sam down at the same time.

"My child, he is a Montague, the only son of your great enemy."

Sam stared at her for a moment, and Carly only nodded, trying to encourage her.

'Improvise,' Carly mouthed.

"My...my only love...sprung from my only hate? Too early seen and known too late?"

"Aye. Thou hath lost thy common grace, exchanged for a most handsome face," Carly improvised. She began spitting out invented lines one by one, not even sure where they were coming from, launching into a monologue of what happens to young women when they fall for the wrong boys. It even fit into the Shakespearean writing style of iambic pentameter, and the audience seemed transfixed by Carly as Lady Capulet.

In her haze of embarrassment, Sam wasn't as quick with inventing new lines as Carly, and merely used Shakespeare's original lines, but it worked beautifully, turning a disastrous moment of teenage love gone awry into a touching scene between daughter Juliet and mother Lady Capulet. In one moment of panic, Carly had transformed Lady Capulet from an emotionless void, a simple filler and mere companion to Lord Capulet to a mother concerned for her daughter's happiness instead of a family feud.

The stagehands were unprepared as of how to continue, and once Carly's monologue had ended, they simply closed the curtains, the sound of roaring applause carrying through the heavy red drapes.

"Carly, that was amazing!" Luke exclaimed, hugging her. Carly laughed, blushing a little. Her castmates began buzzing around her, most of them commenting on what an amazing improv actress Carly was, some of them scolding her for changing Shakespeare's words, but Sam stepped in front of them, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Thank you," Sam whispered in Carly's ear. "I just kind of lost my place..."

"Freddie's an idiot," Carly whispered back. "In fact, I need to go give him a piece of my mind..."

"CARLY SHAY!" the unmistakable voice of Ms. Briggs cut through the air from behind, and Carly sighed, hanging her head in self-pity. She turned around slowly.

"Yes?"

"Always have to be the center of attention, don't you?" Ms. Briggs asked sarcastically. "Was Shakespeare not up to your standards?"

"One of your actors dropped the ball. Someone had to do something," Carly responded.

"I knew casting your little group in this play would be a horrible idea," Ms. Briggs shot back, glaring at her. "If you step out of line again and make another attempt to ruin this play, you'll be suspended!" She turned her attention onto Sam. "And Miss Puckett, have you forgotten about our little arrangement?"

Sam paled, shaking her head. "No."

"Then you'd better act like it. You'll do well to remember what happened to your mother when she left school without a diploma. How many fast food jobs has she had again?"

Freddie watched on, his heart sinking in his chest a little.

_This entire thing was my fault_, he thought morosely.

He'd rejected Sam, gotten her hopes up, overreacted to a kiss she probably didn't even want. To make matters worse, he'd publicly embarrassed her and now she was being dressed down in front of her classmates. All because he was an insecure boy who didn't have a clue what he wanted.

He wanted to step in front of Sam and yell at Ms. Briggs, tell her she didn't have a clue what she was talking about and that Sam was NOTHING like her mother. But he didn't get a chance, because Sam's chin went up a proud notch, morphing into something more like herself, and leveled an intimidating glare at Ms. Briggs.

"I am NOT my mother," Sam quipped. "You'll do well to remember THAT. Who do you think you are to tell me what I'm capable of? You're a bitter old woman who only finds joy in demeaning others. At least I can say I'll never be that."

Ms. Briggs stared at her, unsure of what to say, and Sam continued.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the next act." With a final nod, she turned around, walking away from Ms. Briggs and right past Freddie, who scurried after her like a lost puppy.

"Sam, wait!" he called after her as she hurried to her dressing room.

"Leave me alone, Freddie!" she responded, racing to the dressing room door. She had to get in there and lock him out, before she burst into tears. She'd held it together long enough to fire off a warning shot at Ms. Briggs, but her resolve was caving. She couldn't cry. Not in front of him.

"Sam..." Freddie ran after her as she pushed the door open, moving to slam it shut, but Freddie stuck his arm in, and she smashed the door on his arm instead. He let out a yowl of pain, but just pushed the door open, forcing his way in.

"Get out!" she hollered, turning away from him.

"Can we talk? Please? I'm sorry..."

"It's not enough that you tried to embarrass me in front of everyone, and that you tried to get me expelled, you're not going to stop until I break apart, are you?" she responded, still not looking at him.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I just...I saw you kissing him, and I lost it."

"For the last time, Benson, he kissed me! I don't want Anthony!" she shouted, finally whirling around to look at him. "And now I don't even want you!" A tear spilled down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away.

"I overreacted," he responded, shutting the door all the way behind him.

"No shit, Sherlock," Sam quipped. "Now get out!"

"I'm not leaving," he responded. "Not this time."

"I have to get dressed for the next act," Sam replied flatly. "And you're not sticking around for that."

"Well then we'd better get this handled," Freddie shot back. "Or you'll have to enlist me to unlace that thing you're wearing instead of Carly." He said the last part with a wry smile and mischievous look in his eye that made Sam blush a little. She looked down at the ground so he wouldn't spot her reddening cheeks.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" she muttered.

"As I recall, you would too," he responded, taking a step toward her. She backed up a little, and he just moved closer.

"Freddie, go away," she warned.

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

Sam looked up at him, shrugging softly.

"Since when did it matter what I want?" she responded. "It didn't matter last night. It didn't matter when we broke up."

"It was mutual," Freddie stated, staring at her, and when she bit her lip and looked away, he felt an uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. "Wasn't it?"

She looked down at the ground. "No."

"No?" Freddie asked. Sam was silent. "Sam...why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it was what you wanted. That you were tired of...of me," she replied, her voice trembling. "I just knew I wasn't good enough for you, that you deserved someone a little more normal. Someone like Carly. Someone like Wendy."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Wendy turned out to be a conniving shrew. And she's nothing compared to you."

"You said you wanted someone normal."

"I say stupid things."

Sam bit her lip. "I just wanted what was best for you. Because I...I loved you. And..." She stopped herself, taking a deep breath.

Freddie took another step toward her, and this time she didn't retreat backwards.

"And?" he asked. He dared to reach out, his hand going to the bottom of her chin and tilting it up, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"And I never stopped," she whispered, her eyes dropping again, refusing to meet his gaze. It embarrassed her, to admit her feelings so openly, especially when he was this close to her.

Freddie stared at her for a moment, wanting to find out more, wanting to apologize for everything that had happened. Wanting to admit the same thing that Sam had. That he'd let her go because he felt like he wasn't enough for her. Sam was a free spirit, never a dull moment. Freddie was serious and studious. He wasn't rough around the edges like Sam's previous crushes had been. He'd felt he wasn't enough for her. So he'd let her go.

But he'd never stopped loving her. Not for a second. Not during his short lived relationship with Wendy, not during the spiteful, jealousy-induced moments he'd watched her with Anthony and said things he immediately regretted.

They'd both wasted so much time, just because of their own insecurities, just thinking the other would be better off without the former. But they'd both been horribly wrong. They weren't whole people without each other. Just two halves, two misshapen puzzle pieces that only fit with each other.

'Maybe when you get a little more normal,' he'd told her.

'Maybe when you get a little more abnormal,' she'd fired back.

Why hadn't it occurred to them that Sam had slowly coaxed out Freddie's weirdness, and that little by little Freddie had been turning Sam into a more productive member of society? What one lacked, the other provided. They hadn't needed time apart, they needed more time together.

Sam felt like she was going to have a panic attack.

_Why isn't he saying anything_, she thought worriedly. She couldn't even look at him, so overcome with nerves she was. She moved to pull away, ready to throw him out and let herself be expelled so she'd never have to see him again, but he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"You think I'm letting you get away that easy this time, Puckett?" he responded, his hand going to the small of her back and pressing her against him. He ran a hand through her hair, staring at her, which only served to make Sam more nervous. It was nervous in a good way, but she didn't know how to react, so she looked down.

"Look at me," he said in a firm voice that made Sam's eyes lift to lock with his. He stared at her for a second, still twisting her hair around his fingers. "I was wrong." With that, he kissed her softly, his lips sliding gently across hers.

Sam's eyes fluttered shut as she felt her stomach do flip flops. Her pulse quickened. Her knees were weak. Somewhere deep inside her, she felt fireworks. Her arms slid around his neck and he pulled her even closer as the kiss between them intensified, lips parting as tongues tangled together, tentatively at first, then more intensely as months of buried teenage passion was finally allowed to surface once more.

Freddie pulled away long enough to brush her hair away from her ear, pressing a kiss to her neck and then moving higher.

"I still love you," he whispered in her ear. "I never stopped. And I never will."

"Even though I'm not normal?" she asked, pulling away, her eyes full of questions.

Freddie shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "Maybe because of it. Who knows? At least you always keep me on my toes." He kissed her again. "And now it's my job to sweep you off yours."

Sam could do no more than let out a girlish giggle that was totally unlike her, but she went with it, kissing him happily.

"I can't believe this," she said softly, her lips still touching his.

"I'm just sorry we wasted so much time," he responded.

"Speaking of time," Sam grunted, looking at the clock that hung on the wall. "I really don't want to get expelled..."

Freddie nodded. "I know. And this time I won't screw up, okay?" He kissed her one last time and then headed to the door.

The rest of the play went off pretty free of incident, Ms. Briggs threatening to suspend anyone who dared to deviate from Shakespeare's original play. It was inexplicable to the audience why Romeo had suddenly transformed from sullen and withdrawn to impassioned and determined. The cast was sure it was part of some iCarly-centered conspiracy to ruin the entire production. Ms. Briggs didn't really care one way or the other, just as long as everything stayed on schedule. Carly and Gibby behaved like fangirls in the wings, clutching each other arms at every glance, touch, and interaction between Sam and Freddie, and Carly felt an overwhelming sense of relief that the two were finally starting to figure everything out. But on the other hand, she felt a little tinge of bitterness. Brad had largely avoided her. She hadn't interacted with him at the party the night before at all, due to the blow up between Sam and Freddie, and things backstage tonight had just been too hectic.

"I guess all's well that ends well, right?" Gibby had asked her, and she shrugged. Gibby stared at her, his brow furrowed. "What's wrong, Carly? Isn't this what you wanted? Sam and Freddie back together? The return of Seddie?"

"Yeah," she responded. "I just thought that maybe...you know..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"Brad?" Gibby asked, and Carly nodded.

"Why didn't I see it? You know, when I had the chance? And I mean, am I really that clueless to everything going on around me? How many other guys have I overlooked and pushed away?"

"Night's not over yet," Gibby pointed out.

"Yeah, but..." she sighed. "I blew it, you know? And the sad part is, I didn't even think about him that way, but now it's all I think about. He's a really good guy. I bet he would have been a pretty good boyfriend."

He nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Well, we'd better get ready for the next act...Sam and Freddie are about to off themselves."

Carly made a face. "Ugh, when you say it like that..."

"When you think about it though, it kind of makes sense. Like a metaphor or something," Gibby responded as they retreated further backstage for final costume changes.

"What are you babbling about?" Carly asked. Gibby shrugged.

"They pretty much ruined themselves without the other one, you know? Dating people that weren't right for them, just trying to get over each other. Sam nearly getting expelled. It's kind of like suicide. Not to their actual lives, but way of life."

Carly just stared at Gibby, somewhat in awe.

"Wow...you're really a lot deeper than people give you credit for, Gibs."

Gibby shrugged. "It's an act. If you act like an idiot, people expect less of you."

She laughed. "I get what you mean. And I totally understand what you mean about Sam and Freddie too. It's twisted, but in a way, I kind of wish someone would put themselves on the line like that for me." With that, she sighed. "I better get changed. I have to go play the role of the grief-stricken mother."

Gibby watched Carly go, frowning a little. He felt bad for Carly. It wasn't entirely her fault she'd been so blind to Brad's affections. Carly was the type that she just didn't see something if it wasn't dropped right in front of her face. She responded to grand gestures, not subtle hints. And the poor thing was always putting everyone else first, overly concerned with her best friend's happiness. She'd been cooking up ways to get Sam and Freddie back together since they'd broken up.

_You know what_, Carly, you're not the only one who can be conniving, he thought to himself, and went off in search of Brad.

He found him in the backstage bathroom, the door cracked open, as Brad stood in front of the mirror with his shirt pushed up, attempting to scrub the fake blood off his side with a handful of soggy brown paper towels and failing miserably.

"Hey," Gibby greeted him.

"Dude, I had no clue corn syrup and red food dye were so hard to get off," Brad complained. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed?"

Gibby ignored Brad's question, cutting to the chase.

"What are you going to do about Carly?"

"Geez man, you too?" Brad grumbled. "What next, are you going to hold my head underwater?"

"Don't push me," Gibby responded.

"Anyway, I was going to try to talk to her last night, but she took off."

"Sam and Freddie were having problems."

Brad shrugged. "They seem fine now. Anyway, maybe it's for the best. I don't want to make a fool out of myself, you know?"

"Maybe you should."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know by now that Carly errs on the side of oblivious."

"Yeah, so?"

"So do something...obvious," Gibby shot back. "And do it fast, because you're running out of time."

"Okay?" Brad responded, confused.

"Like within the next five minutes before the scene starts." With that, Gibby left Brad alone in the bathroom, a little caught off-guard and perplexed.

_What was that about? Gibby's a weird guy sometimes..._

He finally gave up on cleaning off the fake blood and headed out of the bathroom, dodging cast and crew that were running around the stage like there was a fire or something. Brad had nothing to worry about at this point until they had to re-do the production tomorrow night, his character was already dead, Freddie had already killed Luke onstage, and now everything was drawing to a close. The only thing on Brad's mind right now had been Gibby's cryptic garble about grand gestures, and whether he'd be bold enough to even try something.

At that moment, one of the dressing door rooms flung open and out walked Carly, looking all too gorgeous in a black gown, her hair swept off her face and looking about at all the backstage action. Brad bit his lip, took a deep breath, and walked to where she stood.

"Hey," he said.

"Oh, hi," she responded. She stared down at the ground for a second, unsure of what to say. "So...good job out there with the dying and everything."

Brad laughed. "Thanks. I don't think the fake blood's gonna come out though." He lifted his shirt. "Check this out."

_Oh my god, he has abs_, Carly thought breathlessly. Without thinking about it, she let her hand lift to Brad's waist, tracing the spatter of dried stage blood.

"I think you're right," she responded softly. "It's on there pretty good."

Brad gritted his teeth as he felt a spark of electricity shoot up his spine as she touched his skin. Her hands were so soft, and she looked so beautiful. He wanted to kiss her then and there.

"Carly..."

"Hey, have you seen Gibby?" one of the other castmates, a girl named Kate, rushed over to her. "We can't find him."

"Um, I think he's still changing..." she responded, then tossed a look at Brad. "I'd better go find Gibby."

"Yeah..." Brad trailed off.

Carly stood there for a moment, not sure of what to do.

"Were you going to say something before?"

"Uh...no...no I wasn't. You should go find Gibby," he responded.

_Oh my god, you suck as a human being,_ he scolded himself.

Carly looked acutely disappointed, but managed a nod. "Okay. I'll see you after." She left him where he stood.

Brad sighed, looking out through the wings of the curtains to the scene being played out onstage. Sam was laid out on a platform, in her fake dead state, just before Freddie was supposed to drink the poison and die.

_Those two are absolutely crazy, and they managed to figure it out, why can't I?_

"Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amorous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; and never from this palace of dim night? Depart again: here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here will I set up my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh," Freddie recited as he knelt down, pausing to kiss Sam's temple softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave him a small smile. Freddie couldn't help but grin like an idiot, grateful his back was to the audience.

He'd have to remember to thank Sam for starting that food fight with him in the cafeteria that fateful day; without it, they'd never be here. He'd still be dating Wendy, and who knows what Sam would be doing, if she'd be dating Anthony or someone else that wasn't him or suffering in silence. His only regret had been that they'd wasted so much time away from each other.

He was amazed he remembered the rest of his monologue. Really, the only thing he could think about was the beautiful girl laying out in front of him, and how he planned to make up for being such an ass.

"Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love!" Freddie drank the fake potion, the final nail in the coffin that was the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. But Sam and Freddie? That wasn't a tragedy at all. It was a sweet...no, bittersweet story that he hoped would continue for the rest of his life.

He fell beside Sam, his arm going over her and fingers stealthily digging into her ribcage. She responded with a happy, soft noise. They were supposed to be dead, but it was difficult, laying there stiff in front of an audience while all they really wanted to do was go somewhere private together.

"Be my Juliet?" he whispered in her ear.

"As long as you don't die on me," she whispered back with a smile.

Around them, fellow students and actors wrapped the scene, proclaiming the tragedies. Sam was forced to move, away from Freddie, somewhat against her will. After some exchange with Friar Laurence, she was to take her place in front of Freddie, who laid in front of her with his eyes closed.

_He really is absolutely breathtaking,_ she thought to herself. I'm never letting him get away from me again.

"What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end: O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make die with a restorative." She pressed her lips against his, and it took everything Freddie had not to pull her down to him, to deepen the kiss.

_Easy, Benson. There'll be time for that later. Don't get your girlfriend expelled. _

"Thy lips are warm," Sam said. She knelt down close to his ear. "I want to get out of here," she whispered in his ear.

"Then hurry up and die already," he whispered back with a smirk. Sam grinned at him, then continued the scene.

"Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. Oh happy dagger, this is thy sheath!" She took the trick knife with the retractable blade for the stage performance and thrust it into her belly. "There rust, and let me die!" With a final flourish, she fell on Freddie, Juliet now dead.

Murmurs and slight applause rang through the audience, and the castmates felt relief that the iCarlys hadn't managed to completely ruin the play, aside from Carly's outburst in act three. Only one more scene to get through, the final wrap up, featuring Friar Laurence, the Prince, Lord Montague, and the Capulets.

"Oh, me!" Carly proclaimed. "This sight of death is as a bell that warns my old age to a sepulchre!"

Brad and Gibby stood offstage, and Gibby elbowed Brad.

"Well, you blew it," Gibby said softly. "You're not going to get this much time with Carly again. You had like a ten minute window, and now it's gone. I guarantee somebody, probably one of the drama club guys, is going to snatch her up."

Brad stared at Carly as she interacted with the guys playing Friar Laurence and Lord Capulet, and felt a surge of jealousy course through him.

"Night's not over yet," he responded, and to Gibby's horror, Brad marched out onstage.

"My lady!" he shouted. "My lady Capulet!"

Carly whirled around to face him as he approached her, looking aghast as he took her hand.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"You're supposed to be dead!" one of the audience members shouted, and Brad turned to face the audience, pointing at them.

"Nay, I live!" he shouted. "Brought back from the dead by my love!"

Sam propped herself up on her elbows from where she lay on the fake tomb, just as confused as everyone else.

"What is he doing?" she hissed to Freddie, who grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back down.

"You're supposed to be dead," he hissed back.

Carly stared at Brad like he had completely lost his mind, and for a moment he'd wondered if he'd made the right decision, but decided it was too late to back down now.

"For many fort nights I hath...toiled, my mind embroiled with thoughts of thine beauty," Brad adlibbed. "But lacking continence, I hath suffered in silence! But no longer! I must proclaim my love!"

Ms. Briggs stood offstage, frantically flipping through her copy of Romeo and Juliet. Coming up with nothing, she threw the pages in the air in total frustration. Those kids were nothing but trouble!

"Wilt thou have me?" Brad asked Carly, who still looked stunned.

"I..." Carly struggled to think of something to return with, and then was hit with a sudden burst of inspiration. "Perhaps I was blind to thee affections, consumed with worry for that of my daughter." She glanced over at Sam, and Sam and Freddie exchanged a look.

"But Juliet is gone, in the heavens with her love. I alone walk this earth. Alone is not the way I choose to walk. I...I accept thee."

The audience burst into applause at this new rendition of Shakespeare, but the fellow members looked aghast. Why were they clapping? What was going on? What do they do? One by one, the members filed off the stage, annoyed that their moment in the sun was interrupted by the romantic issues of the iCarly crew. The stagehands drew the curtains closed. Applause continued to ring out.

Carly seemed flabbergasted. "I can't believe we just did that," she said to Brad.

"Neither can I," he responded. "But Carly, I meant it, I really like you, and..."

"You two!" Ms. Briggs voice rang shrilly across the stage. "You are so suspended!"

Brad's face paled. "Oh come on, Ms. Briggs, Carly had nothing to do with it, she..."

"She probably orchestrated the whole thing, along with Puckett!"

"Hey, lady, leave me out of this!" Sam cried, only to have Freddie clap a hand over her mouth.

"Enough," he said lowly in her ear. "We're done here, okay? Let's make ourselves scarce before that mouth gets you into trouble." Once he had removed his hand from her mouth, Sam smirked.

"Sometimes you like the trouble my mouth causes, as I recall," she shot back, and he felt his cheeks heat up. "Or should I remind you?"

"Let's find a closet, and then for the love of god, remind me," he said in a low voice, pulling her offstage while Ms. Briggs was preoccupied with yelling at Carly and Brad.

"Shakespeare is probably rolling in his grave right now!" she yelled. "You're both suspended for a week, and you're off the play!"

Brad rolled his eyes. "I only joined because of her anyway," he replied, and Carly looked shocked.

"You did?" she asked. He nodded.

"I thought it was obvious."

"I suck at obvious," Carly replied with a shrug.

"We'll work on it," he said with a laugh.

"I don't even...I don't know what's wrong with kids these days," Ms. Briggs grumbled as she threw her hands up and walked away from them.

They were finally alone. Brad wanted to shove his hands in his pockets and stare at his shoes, but he didn't have pockets, so he just held his hands behind his back.

"Sorry for getting you suspended," he said glumly. "I just...I'm sorry."

Carly shrugged. "I'm not," she said, and Brad did a double take.

"You're not?"

"Nope," she replied. "So..."

"So..."

"Pick me up at seven tomorrow night," she replied. She stood there for a moment, weighing her options, before finally placing her hands on Brad's shoulders and planting a soft kiss on his lips. He wanted to explode with happiness, his hands going to her waist and pulling her to him. She pulled away a few seconds later, giving him a smile.

"Good night, Brad."

Brad couldn't believe his luck.

"Good night, Carly. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," she responded with a smile and a wave, and then turned to walk away, leaving Brad alone on the stage. He waited for her to be out of earshot, and then pumped his fist victoriously in the air.

"YES!" he crowed, leaping for joy. "Yes, yes, yes!"

oOoOoOoOo

"Yes..." Sam bit her lip, unable to stifle a moan. Freddie chuckled as he continued to kiss along the tender flesh of her neck.

"Shh, they'll hear you..." he whispered. "Don't want to get interrupted, do we?"

"No..." Sam purred, her mind so foggy she was unable to come up with much more than simple one word answers.

"Now, if I recall, you really liked it when I kissed you here..." Freddie kissed the spot just below her earlobe, his arm tightening around her waist as Sam's knees began to buckle.

It had taken no time after the Shakespearean fiasco onstage for Sam and Freddie to find a broom closet to hide in and spend a little time reconnecting, kissing passionately like this was the only chance they'd ever have to kiss again. Of course, over Freddie's dead body would he let that happen. He was completely intoxicated by the feel and taste and scent of her...he didn't ever want to let her go.

Sam's fingers curled through Freddie's hair as he continued to assault her neck with gentle kisses, every now and then moving back to her mouth and then taking the same delicious path all over again. All she could think about was how good it felt to be in his arms again, how much she'd missed this. She never wanted it to stop.

"Sam..." Freddie whispered against her neck. "I love you."

She bit her lip, wanting to cry, not from sadness, but overwhelming, sheer joy.

"I love you too."

"Be my girlfriend? Officially?"

"Like you had to ask," she said with a laugh, kissing him.

"And the dance?"

"Yeah, that too," she responded. "Freddie..."

"Yeah?"

"My mom's not at home."

Freddie froze, staring at her as he felt his stomach flip flop. "And?"

"And you figure it out."

The last time he'd been in this situation, he'd gently rebuffed her. Taking Sam's virginity, her taking his, was not the way to end their relationship. But things were different now. He was madly in love with her and 100% sure of it this time. No hesitation. No pesky thoughts about whether or not Sam was really girlfriend material. He loved her. That was what really mattered.

"Freddie?" Sam was growing nervous.

"Let's go," he replied, opening the closet door.

The next day would bring the ire of Ms. Briggs, of the drama club. Rumors would swirl about Sam and Freddie, throughout Ridgeway and the internet. Navigating the whys and woes of teenage love. But for now, the only thing that mattered was being together, sharing a moment, a first, that would stay with them for the rest of their lives, lives that would forever be connected and entangled.

But that, my readers, is another story entirely...

**A/N: So I kind of left this open for a sequel, but no promises, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. More projects coming soon! :D**


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